PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Lawmakers on both sides of Arizona agree on one thing: There is an immigration crisis. What they don’t agree on is how to fix it.
Proposition 314 would make it a misdemeanor for noncitizens to enter Arizona at any location other than an official port of entry.
Unlawful entry and re-entry are already federal crimes, punishable by fines and/or jail time.
The ballot measure would also allow local police to arrest people who cross the border illegally, and state judges to order their deportation.
Additionally, it would be a low-level felony for anyone to submit false information or documents for employment or public benefits. Proposition 314 would also make selling fentanyl a Class 2 felony if someone knowingly sells fentanyl and another person dies as a result of the substance.
State Republican Sen. John Kavanaugh said having local law enforcement enforce it would stop more human traffickers, people on terrorist watch lists and drug smugglers. .
“This is the worst of the worst. The problem we have is Border Patrol is busy processing all the fake asylum seekers at the ports of entry, “We have very few employees,” he said.
Democratic state Rep. Annalize Ortiz opposes it.
“This means our streets will be less safe as police officers will be forced to choose between responding to robberies and robberies, or doing work that overlaps with border patrol,” she said. said.
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Critics say Prop. 314 is similar to SB 1070, a controversial bill passed in 2010 that would allow police to ask for proof of citizenship if someone is suspected of being in the country illegally.
Under Prop. 314, Ortiz said, “there will also be civil rights violations, where U.S. citizens will be arrested and detained because they cannot readily prove their citizenship.”
Kavanagh says that’s not entirely true, and that the proposition only applies to the boundaries between legal entry points.
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“Under SB 1070, all you needed was a reasonable suspicion to make an initial stop. Under this bill, you always need a higher level of probable cause, meaning they violated the law. “This is evidence that there is a high possibility that this is the case,” he said. “Another provision of this proposal would increase the fines for someone who knowingly sells fentanyl and someone dies as a result.”
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, more than 90% of fentanyl is stopped at ports of entry.
Proposition 314 is modeled after a Texas law (SB 4) whose constitutionality is being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Even if Arizona voters pass the measure this November, it would not go into effect until the Texas measure is determined to be legal.
Read more: Arizona family guide to 2024 statewide voting measures
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