by Daniel Stefanski | Feb 1, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona legislative Republicans are again standing with state attorneys general over an issue of national importance.
This week, both the Arizona State House and Senate Republican Caucuses announced that Speaker Ben Toma and President Warren Petersen had joined a letter to President Joe Biden, “urging (the administration) to either enforce our immigration laws and protect our southern border or get out of the way so Texas can.”
The letter to the White House follows an escalating disagreement between Texas state officials and the Biden Administration over enforcement of laws and allocation of resources pertaining to illegal immigration into that state. Both sides are looking to the Supreme Court of the United States to adjudicate this politically volatile dispute.
“Arizona is overwhelmed from the same dangers brought on by this invasion as Texas. Biden is literally dismantling our nation as we know it, allowing known terrorists and criminals to enter through our southern border with no consequences,” said President Petersen. “Since our Attorney General is not pushing back against the lawlessness Biden is promoting by working to destroy the border barriers Governor Abbott has built, the Legislature must speak out and stand in solidarity to support our neighbors.”
“Texas has every right to defend itself from the unprecedented flow of illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and countless threats at our southern border because of President Biden’s willful refusal to protect this nation,” said Speaker Ben Toma. “I stand with Governor Abbott and call on Governor Hobbs to follow his lead and invoke Arizona’s constitutional right to defend itself.”
The letter that Petersen and Toma co-signed was led by the States of Iowa and Utah and joined by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
In their letter, the attorneys general and legislators write, “The federal government should be working to stop this crisis, but it is not. And the Constitution’s Guarantee Clause requires that the federal government do so. It must ‘protect each [State] against invasion.’ But it has abandoned its duty. Nothing in the Constitution stops Texas from stepping up and doing its part to protect itself, and in so doing also protecting States across the country. To those that contend this power belongs only in Congress, they should take that up with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who stands with Texas. By following the Constitution, Texas is doing what the federal government has failed to do.”
Over the past few months, the two Republican legislative leaders have signaled a more aggressive shift in taking the reins from Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes to defend the law and Constitution. Attorneys general are not usually joined by outside parties on their amicus briefs or letters, yet multiple coalitions of Republican state prosecutors have included Petersen and Toma on several major filings. In previews for the 2024 legislative session, both the House and Senate Majority Caucuses indicated more of these efforts are to be expected throughout this year.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | May 10, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
The Biden Administration is attempting to mitigate unfavorable headlines at the southern border once again.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) confirmed a report that more troops were headed to the U.S.-Mexico border. A statement attributed to Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder read, “At the request of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Austin approved a temporary Department of Defense (DoD) increase of an additional 1,500 military personnel to supplement U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) efforts on the U.S. Southwest Border.”
The news from the Pentagon came just days before a COVID-era border policy, Title 42, is scheduled to end. Title 42 was an action “derived under U.S. Code Title 42, Section 265” …to suspend “entries and imports from designated places to prevent spread of communicable diseases.” According to a memorandum from then-U.S. Border Patrol Chief Rodney S. Scott, “while operating under this authority, USBP will use Title 42 authority to immediately expel any individual encountered attempting to enter the United States in violation of travel restrictions.”
Experts and border officials have long predicted disastrous consequences for the end of Title 42, and recent numbers have confirmed those warnings. On May 1, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz tweeted the news that there were 22,220 apprehensions at the southern border in the past 72 hours.
Brig. Gen. Ryder’s announcement gave insight into the assigned duties of the additional troops, stating, “For 90 days, these 1,500 military personnel will fill critical capability gaps, such as ground-based detection and monitoring, data entry, and warehouse support, until CBP can address these needs through contracted support. Military personnel will not directly participate in law enforcement activities. This deployment to the border is consistent with other forms of military support to DHS over many years.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott had an entirely different perspective on the DOD’s move, tweeting, “Biden says he will deploy 1,500 troops to the border – primarily to do paperwork. And only for 90 days. This does nothing to stop illegal immigration. I deployed up to 10,000 Texas National Guard to the border to fill the gaps created by Biden’s reckless open border policies.”
Over the past few weeks, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs does not appear to have proactively issued statements about the end of Title 42, the influx of troops to the border, or the expected increase in illegal immigration. Her last Twitter communication about border security may have been on April 24 when she touted her meeting with Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo, writing,
“I had a productive conversation with Governor Alfonso Durazo on expanding partnerships in trade, commerce, and infrastructure, and opening lines of communication between our governments as we come closer to the expiration of Title 42. We will use all the tools and resources available to manage the effects of lifting Title 42, including our partnerships in Sonora that support the Sonoran mega-region and create lasting and meaningful cross-border collaboration.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by AZ Free News | Jun 12, 2021 | News
Governors Doug Ducey and Greg Abbott today urgently requested all U.S. governors to send available law enforcement resources to their states along the U.S.-Mexico border as illegal border crossings, apprehensions and unaccompanied migrant children in federal custody increase.
This week, the Customs and Border Protection apprehension numbers for the month of May were released sending shock waves across border states. The data showed more than 180,000 illegal aliens were apprehended crossing the border over the course of the month, a 674% increase from the 23,237 illegal aliens apprehended at the border in May 2020.
May’s numbers makes it the fourth month in a row of more than 100,000 apprehensions by CBP, and three consecutive months above 170,000—the highest totals in two decades.
In a joint letter from Governors Ducey and Abbott, fellow governors were told: “In response to the ongoing surge of illegal border crossings, with the accompanying threats to private property and to the safety of our citizens, Governor Abbott has declared a disaster and Governor Ducey has declared an emergency.”
The letter notes that Arizona’s Border Strike Force has intercepted 284 pounds of fentanyl since its inception. A lethal dose is a mere 2 milligrams, so the Border Strike Force’s actions helped prevent 64,410,064 deadly doses from making it to Arizona’s streets or other states.
“Texas and Arizona have stepped up to secure the border in the federal government’s absence, and now the Emergency Management Assistance Compact gives your State a chance to stand strong with us,” the letter states.
Law enforcement support from other states will provide additional manpower in Arizona and Texas, allowing for the apprehension of more perpetrators of state and federal crimes before they can cause problems in border communities and all states across the nation.
