Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels says that no border patrol officials can attest that the border is secure.
Dannels testified this during a joint congressional hearing in Sierra Vista, Arizona by the House Oversight and Judiciary committees on Tuesday. Dannels further accused the Biden administration of playing word games about the state of the border to foster a false sense of security among the American people.
“It’s a shell game, it’s a word game to make the American people feel safe when we know here at the community level — especially here in Cochise County — that that’s a false narrative,” said Dannels.
It’s clear from the @GOPoversight and @JudiciaryGOP joint field hearing about the border that @POTUS won’t meet with sheriffs in America or secure our borders, but is willing to create a false narrative about the safety of our communities and nation. #nc11#ncpolhttps://t.co/1dgRAfyH09
— Congressman Chuck Edwards (@RepEdwards) August 9, 2023
Dannels said he attempted to deliver a 16-point plan to secure the border, compiled by sheriffs nationwide, to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
According to Dannels, Mayorkas later claimed to never have seen the plan. Present at the hearing were Arizona Reps. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05), as well as Reps. William Timmons (R-SC-04), Chuck Edwards (R-NC-11), and Glenn Grothman (R-WI-06).
Biggs remarked that Democrats refused to attend the hearing, which he lamented as prioritization of party politics over solving the border crisis.
Democrats’ uniform absence from Tuesday’s congressional hearing, as well as the Biden administration’s insistence that the border situation has improved, appears to be a lockstep party effort to reform public perception of the border crisis.
Last week, two of Arizona’s Democratic state lawmakers insisted that the current public perspective and reporting on the state of the border as a crisis is sensationalized. Mayorkas testified several weeks ago that he doesn’t believe the border situation constitutes a crisis, a view he has espoused consistently throughout this year. During Tuesday’s hearing, Biggs called Mayorkas’ disregard for existing law an impeachable offense.
Furthermore, DHS is changing the categorization of an illegal immigrant terrorist to “national security risk,” a potentially euphemistic shift that Biggs questioned.
“Why are you changing the language? Because it’s easier to hide the reality of the gravity of the situation,” said Biggs.
Biggs reported that cartels are actively recruiting minors via social media to smuggle illegal immigrants, citing reports out of Yuma, Cochise, and Pinal counties. These cartels promise to pay minors several thousand dollars to traffic illegal immigrants into Phoenix or Tucson.
A House-passed resolution to address the border crisis, HR2, has effectively been left to die in the Senate. Biggs remarked that Biden’s executive branch could improve the border by enforcing existing immigration laws.
Illegal immigrants have court dates as far out as a decade. While they await their day in court, these migrants are free to roam the country. The Biden administration’s practice has effectively revived the controversial catch-and-release practice of the Obama administration.
The border crisis has spawned other crises: crime and drugs. Fentanyl, the primary drug behind this latest addiction epidemic, has progressively killed more Americans: there were over 72,700 overdose deaths last year.
Legal migrants were naturalized at a historic rate last year: nearly one million, the highest since 2008.
Under Biden, there have been a historic total of 5.7 million illegal immigrant encounters at the southwest border (as of this report, July’s total hasn’t been released). This total doesn’t reflect the countless number of “gotaways” — those not encountered and remain in the country undetected.
Watch the full congressional hearing here:
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Arizona Legislative Republicans are furious over President Joe Biden’s announcement about the Grand Canyon.
During his visit to Arizona on Tuesday, President Joe Biden established the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. In his signed proclamation, Biden stated, “Protecting the areas to the northeast, northwest, and south of the Grand Canyon will preserve an important spiritual, cultural, prehistoric, and historic legacy; maintain a diverse array of natural and scientific resources; and help ensure that the prehistoric, historic, and scientific value of the areas endures for the benefit of all Americans.”
Today marks a historic step in preserving the majesty of the Grand Canyon.
First among American landmarks. Sacred to Tribal Nations. Revered by every American.
Arizona Republicans were quick to oppose the president’s action in their state. Senator Frank Carroll said, “Halting uranium mining in this region will only promote our country’s dependence on communist China for the minerals needed every day to support our energy supply. Even the FBI has sounded the alarm that China is the greatest long-term threat to our nation’s ideas, economic security and national security, yet President Biden is welcoming a greater reliance on this government with this action.”
Senator David Gowan also issued a statement: “There was entirely inefficient notice from the Biden Administration to the residents, business owners and elected officials of Mohave County. This is not how government should conduct itself within Arizona or within the United States. We don’t need the federal government coming in and dictating to Arizonans how to protect Arizona. We’ve been doing a fine job of conserving our precious resources and will continue to do so. This federal overreach is unacceptable and unconstitutional.”
Last week, Arizona House Majority Leader Leo Biasiucci and Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borreilli requested that an emergency, joint committee hearing be convened in Kingman in order to “hear testimony on President Biden’s radical proposal to circumvent Congress and unilaterally declare a new 1.1 million acre ‘national monument’ near the Grand Canyon in Mohave and Coconino Counties.”
The plea was directed to the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees on Natural Resources, Energy and Water (Rep. Gail Griffin and Sen. Sine Kerr) and the Chair of the House Committee on Land, Agriculture and Rural Affairs (Rep. Lupe Diaz).
The call for the emergency meeting was adhered to by the Chairs of the legislative committees, where Republicans met Monday night in Kingman and “voted to formally oppose the move that promises to adversely impact the state’s economy and our national security by devastating critical industries like mining and cattle ranching.”
Republican Representative John Gillette also chimed in, posting, “Arizona Democrats refuse to show up for public input on the Biden Land Grab. As Biden is planning to designate 1.1 million acres of AZ people land to build wind and solar via executive order 14008. Democrats call public comments a sham. We must vote them out!”
Arizona Democrats refuse to show up for public input on the Biden Land Grab. As Biden is planning to designate 1.1 million acres of AZ people land to build wind and solar via executive order 14008. Democrats call public comments a sham. We must vote them out! pic.twitter.com/cd4Oog2kKR
— Rep. John Gillette AZ House LD30 (@AzRepGillette) August 8, 2023
Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope was at the hearing and shared his support for his fellow Republicans’ efforts to highlight this issue, writing, “Excited to be in Kingman today to discuss my strong opposition to the over 1 Million Acre land-grab in Northern Arizona that President Biden is expected to announce in the coming hours.”
Excited to be in Kingman today to discuss my strong opposition to the over 1 Million Acre land-grab in Northern Arizona that @POTUS Biden is expected to announce in the coming hours. #AZLeghttps://t.co/mhcBMFuWKm
After Biden’s establishment of the National Monument, Shope issued another statement, saying, “The Biden Administration is determined to halt mining across our country and here in Arizona, crippling our ability to meet demands. We must immediately open up mining in Arizona and address other national security risks here locally that are associated with China’s influence. Shame on President Biden for putting our citizens, our resources and our economy at risk.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
There continues to be a level of optimistic caution from small businesses across the United States as owners weather the current economic environment. On Tuesday, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) released its monthly Small Business Optimism Index, showing an increase of 0.9 of a point in July 2023. That index now sits at 91.9, which, according to NFIB, is the “19th consecutive month below the 49-year average of 98.”
NEW TODAY: @NFIBResearch released its July #SmallBusiness Economic Trends report. Inflation has eased slightly on Main Street, but difficulty hiring remains a top business concern.
NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg issued the following statement in conjunction with the report, saying, “With small business owners’ views about future sales growth and business conditions dismal, owners want to hire and make money now from solid consumer spending. Inflation has eased slightly on Main Street, but difficulty hiring remains a top business concern.”
Additionally, the NFIB State Director for Arizona, Chad Heinrich, shared his own thoughts on the new data, writing, “With the state legislature finally adjourned from its regular session, small business owners can continue focusing on operating their businesses without worry of new costly mandates or higher taxes coming from our state government. We are thankful for the pro-small-business legislators willing to stand against job-killing tax increases and regulatory mandates on our small businesses in Arizona.”
The national business organization highlighted some of the findings uncovered by its newly revealed report, including that “owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months improved 10 points from June to a net negative 30%, 31 percentage points better than last June’s reading of a net negative 61% – which is the highest reading since August 2021 but historically very negative;” that “forty-two percent of owners reported job openings that were hard to fill, unchanged from June, but remaining historically very high;” that “the net percent of owners raising average selling prices decreased four points to a net 25% seasonally adjusted, still a very inflationary level but trending down – which is the lowest reading since January 2021;” and that “the net percent of owners who expect real sales to be higher improved two points from June to a net negative 12%, a very pessimistic perspective.”
This NFIB Small Business Optimism Index has only climbed above 100 two times since President Joe Biden walked into the White House in January 2021. During the Trump administration, the Index sat over 100 for most months during the four years of his presidency – with declines during 2020 when COVID-19 decimated the health and structure of businesses around the nation. Earlier this month, President Biden touted his economic record, tweeting, “13.4 million jobs have been added to our economy on my watch. More than any other president in a full 4-year term, and heartening that our economic agenda is creating opportunity for working for families.”
13.4 million jobs have been added to our economy on my watch.
More than any other president in a full 4-year term, and heartening that our economic agenda is creating opportunity for working for families. pic.twitter.com/o3VrhKuySq
The president also boasted of his policies giving a much-needed boost to the American economy, writing, “We have the lowest rate of inflation among the G7, down two thirds from its peak. That’s Bidenomics: growing the economy by creating jobs, lowering costs for hardworking families, and making smart investments in America.”
We have the lowest rate of inflation among the G7, down two thirds from its peak.
That’s Bidenomics: growing the economy by creating jobs, lowering costs for hardworking families, and making smart investments in America. pic.twitter.com/f9AjFm9ZaU
Twitter added a note from readers on this tweet from Biden, providing context to the information shared by the president. The note read: “According to a report released on July 4, 2023, Japan had the lowest inflation rate among the G7 countries in May of that year. The year-on-year inflation for the G7 as a whole fell to 4.6%, with Japan’s rate specifically registering below 3.5%.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Another week brings another school choice battle between Arizona’s Governor and Superintendent of Public Instruction.
On Monday, the state’s schools chief, Tom Horne, issued a statement to continue to push back against Governor Katie Hobbs political assaults over the historic Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, calling her recent attacks “unfounded.”
The release touted an “independent analysis by education analyst, Dr. Matthew Ladner, of how much the ESA program will cost, showing the dire predictions made by Governor Hobbs and other opponents of the program are incorrect.”
@katiehobbs memo on AZESA conflates the interests of the spending lobby with those of taxpayers (taxpayers pay all the taxes and they are all green) and ignores $218,000,000 in tax credits in making fiscal estimates https://t.co/jc15ayJWkF
Last month, Governor Hobbs’ Office issued a memo, highlighting that the ESA program “would cost the state over $943 million, with over 53% of all new K-12 education spending going towards only 8% of Arizona students.” Hobbs stated, “The universal school voucher program is unsustainable. Unaccountable school vouchers do not save taxpayer money, and they do not provide a better education for Arizona students. We must bring transparency and accountability to this program to ensure school vouchers don’t bankrupt our state. I’m committed to reforming universal vouchers to protect taxpayer money and give all Arizona students the education they deserve.”
Horne has been extremely proactive in responding to all of Hobbs’ attacks on the ESA program, and the fight over the veracity of the Governor’s memo has been no exception. Horne wrote that the author of the analysis, Dr. Ladner, “has studied the issue thoroughly and without political bias. His analysis should be read to reassure taxpayers the ESA program saves tax dollars and is sustainable.”
The Republican schools chief concurred with Dr. Ladner “that the costs of the ESA program will never be $943 million.” However, he pointed out that “even if it were, that would be only about one percent of the fiscal 2022 state budget of $80.5 billion.”
He then took two routes to defend his argument that the cost of the state’s ESA program would not reach the controversial $943 million mark. First, Horne reasoned that “taxpayers pay both state and local taxes. Combined they contribute about $13,000 per student for every student in public school. If a student leaves a public school for a private school, and obtains a payment from ESA of $7200, that is a savings of about $6000 per student to the taxpayers.”
Second, Horne argued that “if the student was never in a public school but was already in a private school when the ESA program was adopted, there is still a benefit to the state for the following reasons: many students in private schools are beneficiaries of the tax credit available for contributors to the student’s tuition. If they choose to take the $7200 from the ESA program, they have to give up that tax credit. This increases revenues to the state, because the tax liability that previously was erased by the tax credit now has to be paid to the state.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Gov. Katie Hobbs says that her decision to not veto more bills represented her biggest missed opportunity this past legislative session.
In an interview with 12 News, Hobbs shared that her 143 vetoes weren’t enough in her eyes — a record-breaking total that far surpassed the 58 vetoes of the last female Democratic governor for the state, Janet Napolitano. Hobbs laughed, then clarified that vetoing for the sake of vetoing wasn’t her goal.
“I didn’t come here to veto bills,” said Hobbs.
In April, Hobbs celebrated breaking Napolitano’s veto record after killing a bipartisan bill to legalize more homemade food sales.
With June came a slew of vetoes on Republican-led and bipartisan bills addressing hot-topic issues.
Hobbs vetoed a bill requiring all child sex offenders to register within the state’s online database. A loophole in state law only requires child sex offenders to register if they’re not considered a high risk of reoffending. Hobbs justified that those child sex offenders didn’t need to be registered because they weren’t the “most dangerous.” Lawmakers denounced Hobbs’ veto, arguing that it allowed predators to remain undetected in communities built on trust, such as schools and sports teams.
Similarly, Hobbs vetoed a bill banning sexually explicit materials from classrooms. The governor derided the legislation as an attempt to ban books.
The governor also vetoed a revision of Proposition 400, which would’ve allowed voters to vote separately for roads and transportation funding. Last week, a bipartisan majority passed a version of Proposition 400 that reunited the two funding questions.
Hobbs then vetoed bills barring state contracts and investments with organizations implementing social credit scoring, often called Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) systems.
The governor also vetoed an election integrity measure prohibiting election officers, employees, or individuals overseeing elections operations from serving in the leadership of a political action committee. Hobbs claimed in the veto letter that there were too few of these cases to justify codification.
Hobbs also vetoed a bill requiring public schools to provide single-access restrooms and changing facilities for transgender individuals. The governor said the protective measure was discriminatory against LGBTQ+ individuals.
The governor also vetoed a bill requiring municipalities to require vagrants to remove their encampments. Hobbs said that the bill shouldn’t be allowed to take effect since it doesn’t address why the homeless decide to install unlawful encampments and offers the homeless no alternative to establishing the encampments.
In the preceding months, Hobbs vetoed several other key bills banning photo radar, prohibiting schools from using the incorrect pronouns to satisfy transgender perspectives, increasing punishments for those who make or distribute fentanyl to minors, increasing punishments for those who commit domestic violence against pregnant women, requiring employers to honor religious exemptions for vaccinations, prohibiting schools from teaching critical race theory, and prohibiting municipal taxes on rental or leased properties.
In the Sunday interview, Hobbs said that, despite the many vetoes and heightened political divisions, she has managed to push through significant legislation, citing the budget. Apart from the vetoes, the divisions are most evident in the fact that only a handful of her nominations have been approved.
Additionally, Hobbs took a jab at the state’s universalized school choice program. The governor said the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program was “unaccountable” and rife with “runaway spending.” Hobbs said that she would continue to look for ways to undermine the program, if not roll it back entirely.
The governor also advocated for greater action to counter alleged climate change. Local and federal Democratic leaders have appeared to have been moving in lockstep when it comes to characterizing the desert heat as a federal emergency, a classification that would come with increased funding for climate and social projects.
Hobbs also expressed confidence that a ballot measure expanding abortion access would come before voters next year.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
On Monday, Republican lawmakers held an emergency meeting on President Joe Biden’s plan to take 1.1 million acres of federal public land for Native Americans.
The meeting occurred in the Joint Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee a day before Biden’s anticipated arrival in Arizona. The president will announce the transition of the land into a national monument during a visit to the Grand Canyon. The lawmakers argued on Monday that the designation would render the land ineligible for vital economic uses such as uranium mining and cattle grazing, as well as limiting recreational opportunities like hunting and fishing.
The 1.1 million acres span the northern and southern borders of the Grand Canyon.
Lawmakers complained that the Department of the Interior (DOI) held a public comment session last month in Coconino County, where reportedly great support for the new monument exists, but not in Mohave County, where reportedly great opposition exists.
In a press release, House Majority Leader Leo Biasucci (R-LD30) pointed out that Mohave County’s opposition should’ve given the federal government more pause.
“Mohave County doesn’t want this monument,” said Biasiucci. “We must give the members of the local community an opportunity to be heard.”
The lawmakers arranged for the emergency meeting in a 72-hour timespan. The three-hour meeting afforded more opportunity for public comment than offered by the federal government.
Stakeholders, like cattlemen, shared during the meeting that they were left out of the conversation on converting the land.
District director for Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-09), Penny Pew, shared that the congressman opposes the monument designation, calling it a “federal land grab.” In his statement, Gosar lamented that 57 percent of Arizona land already exists under federal authority. Gosar revealed that he would work with Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) and Eli Crane (R-AZ-02) to review possible actions to curtail the Biden administration’s encroachment, like repealing the Antiquities Act of 1906.
Pew shared that their review of the actions by the Biden administration had already revealed some red flags with the monument declaration, referencing China’s interest in American reliance for critical minerals used in defense systems. The lands proposed for monument declaration contain one such critical mineral: uranium. Pew cited corruption in relation to the Hunter Biden foreign business dealings without expanding further.
The lands would be designated “Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument.” The name combines two phrases from two different tribal languages native to the region: “Baaj Nwaavjo” means “where tribes roam” in Havasupai, and “I’tah Kukveni” means “our ancestral footprints” in Hopi.
Conservationists and tribal member advocates for the monument designation cited the land as “sacred” to Native Americans, and their opposition to the potential damage that uranium mining could have on the land.
As has become increasingly common practice with the Biden administration, Tuesday’s monument designation comes via an executive order circumventing congressional authority. Traditionally, a congressman representing the area would introduce legislation to designate a monument. In this case, that would be Gosar.
Republican leadership warned that such a unilateral decision by Biden would violate the state’s autonomy under the Statehood Enabling Act. In a press release, State Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli (R-LD30) said that Biden shouldn’t take state land without the legislature’s consent.
“The federal government already controls too much of our land,” said Borrelli. “The President should not be allowed to take away our land and economic opportunities without the consent of the legislature.”
The idea behind the 1.1 million-acre monument came from the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition in conjunction with the nonprofit conservationist organization Grand Canyon Trust. During a press gaggle on Monday, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre alluded that it was the coalition that prompted the Biden administration to unilaterally declare this monument.
Among members of the Grand Canyon Trust’s board are key Democratic players at the state and federal level.
Board member Libby Washburn was Biden’s special assistant for White House Council on Native American Affairs until last May, and previously in Obama’s DOI.
The vice chair of the board, Pam Eaton, also serves as the founder and owner of Green West Energies, a conservation and renewable energy consulting firm, and formerly a longtime leader with the Wilderness Society. Eaton attended the first meetings for the inaugural Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) in May 2021. The goal of the council is to address environmental injustice and racial inequity.
There’s Terry Goddard, the longtime Democratic politician behind the controversial dark money ballot proposition and formerly the attorney general for the state, Arizona director of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Phoenix mayor, and president of the National League of Cities. Goddard’s partner in the dark money proposition, David Tedesco, also sits on the board.
There’s also David Bonderman: billionaire founding partner of TGP Capital, minority owner of the NBA’s Boston Celtics, co-founder and co-owner of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, and special assistant to the U.S. Attorney General during the Kennedy administration. Bonderman also sits on the board of the Wilderness Society and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). In 2014, Bonderman managed to remain on the board of a Russian state-owned investment firm despite economic sanctions placed by the Obama administration.
Bonderman served as an early and hefty donor to the president: he ultimately gave $73,800 to Biden’s campaign. Bonderman also chipped in $5,000 for Biden’s transition team — two months before the election occurred. Bonderman was one of over 3,200 donations totaling over $22.1 million made to Biden’s transition team as early as May 2020.
Board member Rhea Suh, president and CEO of Marin Community Foundation, formerly served as the president of the Natural Resources Defense Council and, during the Obama administration, assistant secretary for policy, management, and budget in the DOI.
Another board member, Trudy Vincent, served on the Obama-Biden presidential transition team as the energy and environment lead in 2008. Vincent is now the senior vice president of federal relations in the Office of Civic Engagement at the University of Chicago.
Former President Barack Obama entertained the idea of designating the Grand Canyon-adjacent lands as a monument, but ultimately relented.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
