Monica Villalobos speaks against Proposition 314 with elected officials, business leaders, and educators in Phoenix on October 10, 2024. The ballot measure would require police to perform immigration duties in addition to their regular enforcement duties. NPR’s Ash Ponders Hide caption
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PHOENIX — In this election, Arizona voters will decide whether to approve a new ballot measure that gives local authorities more power to enforce federal immigration laws.
Supporters of the measure say the state needs to take action after the border with Mexico became the country’s busiest location for Border Patrol encounters earlier this year. But critics are concerned about the law’s overly broad language and economic harm.
The bill, known as Proposition 314, would give local law enforcement the right to question, arrest, detain and prosecute anyone suspected of crossing the border between legal ports of entry in Mexico and Arizona. It is.
The influx of immigrants into the United States across legal ports of entry has become one of the main attacks on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s opponent, Vice President Harris.
Women hold signs opposing Prop. 314 in Phoenix on Oct. 10. NPR’s Ash is thinking Hide caption
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However, in Arizona, a border state and an important swing state that will determine control of the White House, the current reality on the ground has caused the debate to become even more tense.
“This is a bill that was born out of sheer anger and frustration with the federal government. Is it the best solution to this problem? It’s definitely not the best solution to this problem,” said David Rose, president of the Arizona Sheriff’s Association. said.
“But I believe this is a solution because the people of Arizona are fed up,” Rose said, adding that “the federal government continues to completely ignore us on this issue.” added.
Still, Rose, a Republican who serves as sheriff of Yavapai County, north of Phoenix, is concerned about how much of an impact the bill would actually have if passed. Sheriffs would be part of the police force responsible for enforcing this measure.
“When you start talking about adding multiple patrols to a vast, vast desert, when you start putting personnel there, state resources, sheriff’s deputies, it takes a significant increase in personnel to have any impact. We’re going to need it,” Rose said. .
Arizona faces immigration pressure at border
Earlier this year, Arizona became the area with the most Border Patrol encounters, recording nearly 200,000 arrests in the Tucson area alone in the first four months. Immigrants put pressure on town and county officials responsible for accepting and caring for immigrants.
The number of border crossings in the Southwest fell by 55% by summer after President Biden’s executive order denied asylum claims to people crossing between ports of entry.
A view of the border fence as Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance visits the U.S.-Mexico border near Bisbee, Arizona, in August. Ramsay De Give/AFP via Getty Images Hide caption
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Higher spring passage rates and the ongoing presidential election have once again put Arizona among the national It attracted a lot of attention.
Officials are looking for a solution.
If the ballot measure passes, Arizona voters will choose to follow Texas’ SB 4, which also allows local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws. The law has been suspended while it faces legal challenges.
“Arizona wants to join Texas in intervening and supporting federal immigration enforcement,” said state Sen. John Kavanaugh, a Republican and one of the authors of the voting bill.
If passed, the bill would also prevent people who may be in the country illegally from applying for public benefits. It also includes provisions to further punish sales of fentanyl that result in death.
But like Rose, Yuma Republican Mayor Doug Nichols sees challenges in enforcing the law mandating security forces.
“It gives local governments the obligation to deal with these federal issues without giving them the financial capacity to actually do those federal issues,” Nichols said. “It took more time to develop and work with local authorities to have the effect the authors intended.”
He worries that the job will require more training, as officers in border towns are not trained to determine citizenship or evaluate documents.
“Who pays for the processing?” Nichols said. “If it takes a day or two and they have to be in the residence, someone will cover that. Every time we take a suspect to the county jail, the county, of course, They charge us for their time in the county jail.”
Nichols warns that once a ballot measure is passed, only voters can change it, but the process could become more cumbersome.
Concerns about economic impact
Some business groups are also concerned about the economic impact of this measure.
“First of all, we will not follow Texas,” Monica Villalobos, president of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber, said outside the state Capitol. He said the measure does not specify that it will be enforced in specific geographic areas. It also doesn’t reveal what the possible causes mean.
“We live in multi-generational households. We also live in mixed-status households. So, if something happens to one member of the family, whether they have documentation or not, It happens to the whole family,” Villalobos later told NPR.
Monica Villalobos, president of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, poses for a portrait at the state capitol in Phoenix on October 10. NPR’s Ash is thinking Hide caption
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He warned that even if the law doesn’t go into effect right away, it could have a negative impact on Arizona’s reputation and people’s desire to live there.
“It impacts the workforce. It impacts our relationship with law enforcement. And ultimately, it impacts our ability to grow the economy,” she said. I did.
Economic concerns are not unfounded.
Fifteen years ago, during a fight over previous restrictive border measures, Arizona boycotted meetings and gatherings in the state, resulting in more than $100 million in lost revenue in just four months.
Over the next decade, the state’s undocumented population declined, but so did the number of jobs in fields such as construction, according to a 2020 analysis by The Arizona Republic.
Mr. Kavanaugh pushed back against all of these concerns.
“This law clearly states that a police officer must have probable cause for a person to cross the border between legal ports of entry. We saw someone in Phoenix, Tucson, or Flagstaff. Kavanaugh said, “For all practical purposes, no plausible cause can be created.” [it] That means the officer saw someone crossing the street. ”
Kavanaugh added that the state has $56 million in border enforcement available for the program. However, the measure itself does not apply to specific geographic areas, nor does it allocate funds.
The Grand Canyon Institute, a nonpartisan research organization in Phoenix, estimates the proposal would cost $325 million a year.
Young activists call for a ‘no’ vote and knock
Immigration advocates also worry that the measure could send Arizona back to the dark days of so-called “show me your documents” laws, passed in 2010 and at the time the nation’s toughest immigration measures. . The law was ruled unconstitutional.
The measure, known as SB 1070, authorized local law enforcement to require anyone suspected of being in the country illegally to show proof of authorization, even during a routine traffic stop. This law was later ruled unconstitutional.
Daniela Chavira poses for a portrait at Aliento’s phone banking event in Phoenix on October 7th. NPR’s Ash is thinking Hide caption
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Earlier this month, about 30 volunteers from the advocacy group Aliento gathered online and in person in a conference room in Phoenix to call out the latest measures.
The crew assembled there has experienced the whiplash of Arizona’s immigration laws. They were worried about their parents during SB 1070. They successfully fought for in-state student tuition as part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
And now they want to repeal Proposition 314.
“We’re taking one step forward, but we’re already five steps back,” said Daniela Chavira, who worked on the 2022 in-state tuition effort. “Every election is important to my community, my parents, who are undocumented immigrants, and so is our mixed-status family.”
Advocates said local law enforcement provisions are the most concerning.
Ariento’s goal for several weeks has been to help people register to vote. Early voting is currently underway, and they want people to go to the polls while encouraging them to vote against the bill.
The group hopes to mobilize 50,000 young and Latino voters in this election, enough to make them a decisive bloc in a state that President Biden won by just over 10,000 votes. is. They said they were battling voter fatigue and skepticism.
Aliento hosts phone banking event in Phoenix on October 7th Ash thinks on NPR Hide caption
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Another volunteer, Marisa Maestas, worries that voters don’t know what’s on their ballot, especially given Arizona’s long list of voting plans, and said she’s concerned about educating voters about what’s at stake. He said he wanted to.
“We wanted to make sure that other people who have the opportunity to vote did their best and truly understood what was going on and how people were being affected.” said Maestas.
