(DailyVantage.com) – Democratic Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has nixed an immigration bill sponsored by Republican lawmakers in her state that makes it a misdemeanor to cross the border illegally.
The bill, dubbed the Arizona Border Invasion Act, also deems repeated illegal border crossings and refusal to comply with deportation orders as felony crimes. It also empowers all state authorities to arrest violators.
Hobbs explained her decision to veto the measure, saying that it was anti-immigrant and “likely” unconstitutional. She also scored GOP lawmakers in her state over the bill, saying that it was a ploy to “score cheap political points.”
Such behavior, Hobb’s said, “has no place in our state,” as she announced the veto on Twitter / X, complete with a photo of her holding up a hard copy of the bill she had just killed.
Hobbs also argued that the Arizona Border Invasion Act would be an unnecessary burden on law enforcement, further claiming that it would not help secure the border anyway. The governor of the Grand Canyon state also said that the passage of the measure would be “harmful for businesses and communities,” but did not detail why.
The Arizona governor also presented the argument that securing the border was under the sole purview of the federal government. Her stance echoes that of the White House, which has been locked in a legal dispute with Texas over border security. Lawmakers in Texas have also passed a law allowing state law enforcement agents to arrest and detain illegal aliens – one that has, however, been signed by its governor, Greg Abbott. However, the implementation of the law has been put on hold by the Supreme Court for further study after the federal government submitted a petition against it.
Republican lawmakers still have one recourse left to see the bill become law—a veto override that requires a two-thirds vote in the state legislature. However, such a move would require the cooperation of Democratic legislators, who are unlikely to support it.
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