Guzzardi: States join immigration enforcement battle

The national frustration over President Biden’s immigration agenda was reflected not only in the presidential election’s results but also in Arizona.

Proposition 314, a border security measure that makes it a state crime to enter Arizona from Mexico and outside of a legal port of entry, passed overwhelmingly. Nearly 63% of Arizonians voted for the measure, which just 37% opposed, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office results page.

Opponents have compared Prop 314 to Arizona’s “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act,” which passed in 2010 and was partially struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court of the United States. The Court left one provision of that bill intact, requiring Arizona law enforcement to make an attempt, when feasible, to determine a person’s immigration status during a “lawful stop, detention, or arrest” if there is a reasonable suspicion “that the person is an alien and is unlawfully present in the United States.”

Lawful stops would include, among other crimes, traffic violations, home invasions or drug sales. Prop 314 has similar restrictions. Before law enforcement personnel could begin the removal process, it would have to capture on video and identify the illegal immigrant crossing or articulate based on their professional experience that the suspected alien dressed in camouflage or was part of a large group packed into a van, or other actions consistent with unlawful entry.

The proposal covers more than border crossing requirements – also included are increased penalties for fentanyl sales that results in death, a requirement that legal immigration status be confirmed before welfare benefits are granted, and that legal employment status be confirmed through E-Verify. Arizona judges could, after reviewing the evidence presented to them, issue deportation orders to any illegal alien who refuses to leave voluntarily.

Although voters approved the proposition, the border-crossing provisions would not necessarily immediately become law. The text says it can’t be enforced until Texas’ SB 4 is approved. Both Texas and Iowa have taken action similar to Texas’ proposal, which is being challenged in federal court, a process which could take years. The good news is that, after Arizona completes its November 25 state certification, the added penalties for fentanyl-related deaths and identity misrepresentation become law.

Even though Arizona’s full proposition may be years away from becoming law, pro-immigration advocacy groups and the discredited ACLU are taking steps to block it. The ACLU made the familiar claims that it would “break families apart, exacerbate racial profiling, and increase criminalization of immigrants and communities of color.”

Residents in states that have seen their schools, hospitals and police forces adversely affected by the entry of millions of illegal immigrants are imploring their local governments to assist the feds in restoring a rational immigration system. Nationwide, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement Removal Operations have about 35,000 agents. Stacked up against ten million or more illegal aliens, the odds against meaningful enforcement are unbelievably bad indeed. The enforcement agencies need the help state governments can provide.

Former Texas U.S. Representative Barbara Jordan and keynote speaker at the 1976 Democratic National Convention gave the best guideline for immigration policy: “Those who should get in, get in; those who should be kept out, are kept out; and those who should not be here will be required to leave.”

Joe Guzzardi is an Institute for Sound Public Policy analyst who has written about immigration for more than 30 years. Contact him at jguzzardi@pfirdc.org.