By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona voters will have the opportunity to empower local law enforcement to better secure their communities after the state legislature sent a measure to the November ballot.
On Tuesday, the Arizona House of Representatives passed HCR 2060, the Secure the Border Act, sending the proposal to the November General Election ballot. The vote was entirely along party lines.
House Speaker Ben Toma, who sponsored the original version of the ballot referral earlier this year, lauded the progress of the measure. Toma said, “Arizonans have had enough and want change. They want safe communities and a secure border. House Republicans do too. That’s why we crafted HCR 2060, the Secure the Border Act, a ballot referral with meaningful reforms to protect the integrity of Arizona’s workforce, strengthen criminal laws, and reinforce the rule of law in this state. Today’s final passage sends this Act to the ballot this November, so the will of Arizona voters is heard.”
The state House gallery was closed during the debate and subsequent vote for the bill, and Democrats made sure their displeasure was known. State Representative Alma Hernandez said, “Shameful. This is the people’s house. The public should have the right to be there. I don’t remember the last time I was here in the past six years when the gallery was closed to the public. They do not want the public watching. If they were so proud of the bill we are going to vote on today, there would be no reason to close down the gallery.”
The Arizona House Republicans Caucus “X” account responded to the accusations, writing, “Due to security concerns prompted by the shameful and illegally disruptive conduct by Democrats and their leftist allies, the House gallery is not open today. However, anyone who wants to come down to the House of Representatives and watch democracy live in action is welcome and the lights are on.”
During final consideration of HCR 2060 in the Arizona Senate last month, a group of protestors disrupted the legislative process with their shouting against the measure, forcing security to remove them from the gallery.
Arizona Senate Republicans also cheered on their colleagues in the other chamber for approving of this border-related ballot measure. After the vote, Senate President Warren Petersen and other Senators issued statements of support for the House’s action to send HCR 2060 to Arizona voters in November. Petersen said, “In the 12 years I’ve served here at the Arizona Legislature, never has the border crisis been as dangerously severe as it is now, costing Arizona taxpayers more than $3 billion in 2023 alone. As soon as Joe Biden took office, he rolled out the welcome mat for illegal crossings and criminal activity. Now, just months away from an election, he issues yet another executive order so that we’ll all of a sudden believe he cares about the chaos he’s constructed. The citizens of this state aren’t buying it, and they will take border security matters into their own hands this November.”
Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs, however, was not pleased with the result. In a series of posts on her official “X” account, Hobbs said, “As I’ve said time and time again: HCR 2060 will hurt Arizona businesses, send jobs out of state, make it more difficult for law enforcement to do their jobs, and bust the state’s budget. It will not secure our border. I have listened to the needs of border law enforcement and have done everything in my power to support their efforts to maintain a safe, secure, and humane border. What’s clear from my conversations with law enforcement on the ground is that HCR 2060 is not the answer.”
Attorney General Kris Mayes, also a Democrat, echoed Hobbs’ sentiments about the measure, stating, “Further straining law enforcement resources while implementing a measure that could lead to racial profiling is not the answer to creating safer communities. HCR 2060 is a political distraction that will sow seeds of bias and fear without fixing the issues it claims to address.”
The top political party organizations in Arizona also took opposing sides on HCR 2060. The Republican Party of Arizona posted, “It’s long past time to protect our communities, secure our borders, and give Arizonans a voice.”
The Arizona Democratic Party countered with their own reaction to the passage of the measure, writing, “Today, Republicans again voted to bring back SB 1070 era immigration politics by introducing a ballot referral that mirrors a Texas Law allowing local law enforcement to racially profile people.”
The efforts from Arizona legislators to send this referral to state voters comes months after Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed SB 1231, the Arizona Border Invasion Act, which would have “ma[de] it unlawful for a person who is an alien (unlawful immigrant) to enter Arizona from a foreign nation at any location other than a lawful port of entry and outline[d] penalties for violations of illegally entering Arizona and provide[d] immunity from civil liability and indemnification for state and local government officials, employees and contractors who enforce this prohibition” – according to the purpose from the state Senate.
Senator Janae Shamp, the sponsor of SB 1231, had vowed in the aftermath of the governor’s veto that members of her party would continue to push forward solutions to combat the border crisis. This week, Shamp took a victory lap after the state House gave the green light to HCR 2060, stating, “The time has come to empower Arizonans to fight back against the tyranny. I wholeheartedly believe the Secure the Border Act will save countless lives, save billions in taxpayer dollars, and strengthen our national security. We must stop the invasion now, otherwise, our beloved Arizona as we know it will be no more.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
