State Representatives Hope To Collaborate With Governor Ducey On Border Wall

State Representatives Hope To Collaborate With Governor Ducey On Border Wall

by | Jun 27, 2021 | News

By B. Hamilton |

On Friday, a group of Arizona legislators reached out to Governor Doug Ducey with an offer to work with him to address the “omnipresent border crisis.” In a letter to the governor, the legislators also inquire as to the level of funding provided to the Border Strike Force.

Led by Rep. Shawnna Bolick, the lawmakers advised the governor that they hope to work with him to “come up with a concrete plan to further allocate resources to complete portions of the Border wall and ensure Border Strike Force is fully funded.”

The lawmakers accuse the Biden Administration of not making “the public safety or health of Arizonans” a top priority, noting that it “took until today for Vice President Kamala Harris to see the invasion for herself in El Paso.”

“We applaud other governors answering your call for assistance to send some of their law enforcement as back up as the ongoing invasion continues along the southern Border,” write the lawmakers. “The problem is real. We wish you didn’t have to rely on other states to bail us out because the federal government has failed us, but illegal immigration affects every state.”

The lawmakers cite as a source of concern an incident that occurred earlier this year which was “highlighted in the local newspaper that the Department of Public Safety release two confessed human smuggler with just a traffic citation after stopping him along a valley freeway in April with a van full of illegal immigrants.”

“It was rather alarming to read that the illegal immigrants in the van were released into the Phoenix area even though it is a direct violation of state law to be in our state unlawfully. It is noted that the federal agents would not pick up this van full of illegal immigrants if they weren’t violent felons. If the Border Strike Force isn’t identifying traffickers along the southern Border and they are making their way into the Valley, is the Border Strike Force understaffed and underfunded?”

The lawmakers expressed a desire to “work together to further investigate why this human trafficker was let go.”

“We support trade relations with Mexico, but we do not want transnational crime rings bringing further ruin into our state. It is past time to plug the gaping holes on state land that buttress Mexico allowing traffickers to invade our state.”

The lawmakers argue that border security is a states’ rights issue.

Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that Texas would build its border wall. Abbotts aid that the state will be soliciting donations from across the country to help fund the wall.

“When I do make the announcement later on this week, I will also be providing a link that you can click on and go to for everybody in the United States — really everybody in the entire world — who wants to help Texas build the border wall, there will be a place on there where they can contribute,” Abbott said on a podcast show called “Ruthless.”

As AZ Free News reported earlier this month, Ducey and Abbott 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.

The Customs and Border Protection apprehension numbers for May 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.

In a joint letter from 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.”

Bolick was joined in the letter by Reps. Becky Nutt, Tim Dunn, Walt Blackman, Brenda Barton, John Kavanaugh, Mark Finchem, Joseph Chaplik, Beverly Pingerelli, Leo Biasiucci, Judy Burgess, Frank Carroll, Quang Nguyen, John Fillmore, Jacqueline Parker, and Steve Kaiser.

Arizona Businesses One Step Closer To Freedom As Mask Optional Bill Heads To Senate

Arizona Businesses One Step Closer To Freedom As Mask Optional Bill Heads To Senate

by | Mar 4, 2021 | News

By Corinne Murdock |

Arizona businesses are one step closer to freedom from state and local governments requiring them to enforce mask mandates. On Wednesday, the House passed HB 2770 in a close vote of 31-28, with one representative abstaining. The decision was made along party lines – all Republicans voted in favor of it, all Democrats voted against it.

State representative Joseph Chaplik (R-23) introduced the bill; 11 Republican co-sponsors signed onto it. The only Republican representatives that didn’t sign on were Speaker Rusty Bowers (R-25), Joel John (R-4), John Kavanagh (R-23), Joanne Osborne (R-13), Bret Roberts (R-11), and Jeff Weninger (R-17).

In a press release following the vote, Chaplik commended the House members who voted in favor of the bill for deferring to their constituents’ judgment when it comes to enforcing mask-wearing in their businesses.

“Business owners are intelligent enough to make their own decisions with their private companies and this bill restores their rights,” stated Chaplik. “Employees should not be forced to police other citizens on private property and be in confrontational situations risking their safety when their job duties did not require this role.”

Although a majority of customers complied with business’ imposition of mask mandates last year, there also came to be a continued pattern of highly-publicized incidents of retaliation or protests. This occurred frequently enough for major retailers like Walmart to relax its requirement that employees enforce customer mask-wearing.

At present, Arizona doesn’t have a statewide mask mandate. However, the state does mandate that schools and businesses enforce mask-wearing. Certain counties and cities have enforced a mask mandate, such as Maricopa County.

The guidance on mask-wearing has changed frequently over the past year of this pandemic. Whereas before the CDC didn’t state initially that masks protected the wearer, they now claim that they do – and that practices such as wearing more than one mask (“double-masking”) and knotting the mask more tightly to the face further reduce the spread of COVID-19. Although experts don’t recommend storing masks in a ziplock bag between uses, which ADHS Director Dr. Cara Christ has claimed is a safe method of storage.

Following the lift of the stay-at-home order in mid-May, cases began to rise up until the beginning of July. Around mid-June, Governor Doug Ducey began to implement mitigation measures such as business closures, mask and social distancing requirements, and public event limitations. Cases reportedly began to decline around July. A subsequent report by the CDC issued in October didn’t connect mask wearing with the reduction in cases exclusively, but attributed all the mitigation factors imposed collectively.

Wednesday marked other advances made to move communities out of pandemic-imposed restrictions. Ducey announced that schools must offer in-person learning options for their students.

The legislature is also contemplating bills addressing Ducey’s emergency powers. The Senate passed SB 1084 to terminate a state of emergency after 90 days unless the legislature extends it. They also passed SCR 1003, a resolution to allow voters to decide whether a state of emergency should be terminated after 30 days unless the legislature extends it.

Other bills in the legislature inspired by the pandemic include several bills addressing vaccine exemptions, neither of which have advanced in the legislature since they were introduced.

Corinne Murdock is a contributing reporter for AZ Free News. In her free time, she works on her books and podcasts. Follow her on Twitter, @CorinneMurdock or email tips to corinnejournalist@gmail.com.