'A slap in the face': Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoes bill that would allow police to arrest illegal aliens

Arizona is beleaguered by illegal aliens and is now home to the number-one national hot spot for illegal border crossings. U.S. Customs and Border Protection data indicates migrant encounters in the Tucson sector were up 182.4% in the first four months of fiscal year 2024 over the same period last year, dwarfing the counts of other areas along the southern border.

Keen to tackle this problem, Republicans in the Arizona legislature passed Arizona Border Invasion Act, SB 1231, last month. The bill, greatly similar to the one ratified by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in December and recently permitted by a federal appeals court to go into effect, would make illegal border crossing a state crime and empower state and local police to arrest foreign nationals who steal into the Grand Canyon State.

By way of veto, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs killed this effort to clamp down on illegal immigration on Monday.

"This bill does not secure our border, will be harmful for communities and businesses in our state, and burdensome for law enforcement personnel and the state judicial system," Hobbs wrote in a letter to Senate President Warren Petersen. "Further, this bill presents significant constitutional concerns and would be certain to mire the State in costly and protracted litigation."

State Sen. Janae Shamp (R), the bill's sponsor, blasted Hobbs over her veto, saying, "Democrats are choosing to live in an alternate reality that ignores the facts. The facts are that illegal immigrants are crossing the border at a rate our state and our country cannot sustain. The facts are that border-related crimes are at an all-time high in our communities and are no longer safe."

"Our governor proudly vetoed the Arizona Border Invasion Act that would have given our law enforcement the tools to keep citizens like Laken [Riley] safe and alive," continued Shamp.

Contrary to Hobbs' suggestion that SB 1231 would have burdened law enforcement, Shamp underscored that the Arizona Sheriff’s Association "unanimously supported this bill."

"The legislature did its job to protect our citizens but Governor Hobbs failed to do hers. This veto is a slap in the face to our law enforcement, to victims of border-related crimes, and everyone else who will inevitably feel the wrath of this border invasion in one way or another," added Shamp.

Republican state Rep. Steve Montenegro, who sponsored a mirror bill of the legislation, suggested that Hobbs had turned her back on Arizonans and demonstrated with her veto that she's "siding w/Washington DC instead of Arizona families."

Hobbs' veto was alternatively celebrated by leftist and pro-migrant groups.

The activist group Living United for Change in Arizona called the legislature's February passage of the bill "undemocratic," then claimed it was "thrilled" over Hobbs' unilateral action.

"Today we thank Governor Hobbs for striking a major blow to Arizona Republicans' attempt to bring in a new era of anti-immigrant hate and legalized racial profiling to our state," LUCHA executive director Alejandra Gomez said in a statement. "Today is a reflection of the power of democracy and the power of people when they come together to fight against racism, hate, and just plain bad policy."

Under SB 1231, illegal entry would have been classified as a class 1 misdemeanor. If the illegal alien was previously convicted of illegal entry, they would be charged under the vetoed bill as a class 6 felony. The bill would have simplified matters for courts to send foreign nationals packing.

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