Arizona voters to decide fate of Texas-style immigration bill after GOP lawmakers' approval

Arizonans will get to vote on a Republican solution to illegal immigration this November — a measure Democrats and immigrant advocates warn could threaten the state's economy and residents' civil rights.

Based on a similar law in Texas, the measure's main provision would allow state and local police to act as border agents, arresting people who illegally cross the international border and giving them the option to self-deport.

Republicans on Tuesday in the Arizona House of Representatives passed House Concurrent Resolution 2060 on a party line, 31-29 vote after impassioned speeches by lawmakers for and against it.

State Senate Republicans approved the measure last month after a raucous, hourslong debate and a lengthy amendment that addressed concerns by both Democrats and Republican members. Pro-immigrant activists disrupted Senate proceedings and had to be expelled, which prompted House Speaker Ben Toma to order the House's visitor gallery closed to the public before Tuesday's vote.

Kassandra Alvarez and Andrea Varela with Rural Arizona Action criticized that decision.“They work for us, we are taxpayers, we are the ones that are impacted by the laws that they legislate,” Alvarez said. Varela added it was “an affront to our democracy, it's an affront to our rights."

Because it was passed as a ballot measure, the Secure Border Act doesn't require a signature from Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and will appear on the November ballot. Hobbs opposes the measure and vetoed a bill with similar provisions in March.

The Texas law is currently stayed by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Arizona bill's main provision wouldn't take effect unless courts ultimately uphold the Texas law. The Arizona measure also waives liability for officers who participate, increases penalties for fentanyl sales that result in death, and makes fraudulently obtaining government benefits a state crime.

GOP wants to stop drugs, people from coming over border

The vote comes after a group of House Republicans embarked on a late-night fact-finding mission at the border in San Luis, Arizona, early Monday. They promoted the measure during meetings with officials, and held a news conference in Yuma. Rep. John Gillette of Kingman criticized his Democratic colleagues for not going on the border trip.

"You failed to go to the border and actually see human tragedy or the amount of money being spent," Gillette said.

Republicans made their final push for the measure before their vote, going over statistics and insisting they have the right to try to stop the flow of drugs and people coming over the border when the federal government has failed.

"If my neighbor's house was on fire, do I wait until the fire department gets there or can get there before I act myself?" said Rep. David Cook of Globe.

Rep. Matt Gress of Phoenix asked rhetorically how much longer the state should put up with border-related sex trafficking and fentanyl smuggling. More than 274,000 migrants were apprehended last year for illegally crossing the border, including 294 on the terrorist watch list and 43,674 arrests of illegal migrants with criminal backgrounds, he said.

“Give us the opportunity to make a change,” Gress said.

Democrats decry GOP 'election-year politics'

Some Democrats scoffed at the Republicans' "field trip" to the border, saying they know what's happening because they live or hail from that region.

During vote explanations, many acknowledged the positions of their opponents by saying they understood a "humanitarian crisis" was taking place at the Arizona border. But they pressed hard on the idea that the measure would cause the sort of racial profiling that many say they experienced after the state in 2010 passed Senate Bill 1070.

Members of Latino descent discussed the profiling they recalled from the SB 1070 era and claimed the new law would repeat that history.

"It's really disappointing after so many years of families being torn apart during SB 1070," said Rep. Consuelo Hernandez of Tucson. "Arizona is wanting to put the clock backward."

Rep. Junelle Cavero of Phoenix, who was appointed in April to replace a Democrat who resigned, said she was pulled over "for no reason" because of SB 1070.

"It’ll create racial profiling and harassment that’ll result in broken families and resentment," Cavero said of the measure.

Those concerns have remained after Senate Republicans amended the measure to spell out the probable cause needed for law officers to detain suspected border crossers. Officers would need to personally witness someone crossing the border or have access to a video of the alleged crime. But the measure also allows for unspecified probable cause evidence to be used, which Democrats have called a catch-all that could be exploited to expand the scope of who could be investigated under the law.

Two Democratic Navajo lawmakers reminded their colleagues they see the immigration debate in a different light as indigenous people.

Native Americans "truly deserve to be here," said Rep. Myron Tsosie of Chinle, adding his ancestors had their land and culture taken from them "all by those who came in 1492."

"Now tell me who's illegal," he said.

Several top law enforcement officials support the measure, but many have also raised concerns that it could present them with an unfunded mandate, costing their departments millions of dollars. GOP leaders have promised they will provide funding for the law if voters approve it, despite state budget shortfalls expected to last for at least another year. They also claim the law would save the state money due to fewer illegal immigration-related expenses, an opinion critics of the proposal do not share.

"I can assure you that HCR 2060 is not a solution, it is election-year politics," said Democratic Rep. Mariana Sandoval of Tucson.

Nicole Morales, an organizer with Chispa AZ, was one of the many people demonstrating their disapproval of the bill.“Arizona does not want hate, we’re going to be mobilizing and talking to voters to our neighbors, to our vecinos, our tias, our tios all that are eligible to vote,” Morales said.

Reporter Fernando Cervantes contributed to this story.

Reach the reporter at  [email protected] or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Republicans send House Concurrent Resolution 2060 to ballot