PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona voters are set to decide whether to allow local police to arrest migrants suspected of entering the state illegally from Mexico, an authority that would encroach on the federal government’s power to immigration control, but which would not take effect immediately, if ever.

If Arizona voters approve Proposition 314, the state would be the last to test the limits of what local officials can do to curb illegal immigration. Over the past year, Republican lawmakers in Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma have passed immigration laws. In each case, federal courts have halted state efforts to enforce them.

The only presidential battleground state bordering Mexico, Arizona is no stranger to deep division over immigration policy. Since the early 2000s, frustration with federal control of the Arizona-Mexico border has inspired a movement to involve local police departments, which traditionally left border duties to the federal government, toward control. of immigration.

The state Legislature approved a 2005 ban on immigrant smuggling that allowed then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to lead an immigration crackdown, a 2007 ban on employers of knowingly hiring people in the country illegally and a landmark 2010 immigration law that required police, while enforcing other laws. , to question the legal status of people suspected of being in the country without authorization.

Arizona voters have already been asked to decide questions related to immigration. They approved a 2004 law denying certain government benefits to people living in the country illegally and a 2006 law declaring English the official language of Arizona. They also rejected a 2008 proposal that would have made business-friendly revisions to state law prohibiting employers from hiring people in the country without authorization.

Republican lawmakers in Arizona say the proposal is needed to help secure the border as they blame the Biden administration for an unprecedented wave of illegal immigration. Record levels of illegal crossings have plummeted in recent months, following moves by the White House to tighten asylum restrictions.

Opponents of Proposition 314 argue that it would harm Arizona’s economy and reputation and lead to racial profiling of Latinos. They cite the profiling Latinos experienced when Arpaio led the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. In 2013, a federal judge ruled that Latinos were racially profiled during Arpaio’s highway patrols targeting immigrants, leading to a court-ordered overhaul of the agency that is expected to cost taxpayers $314 million in legal and compliance costs by mid-summer 2025.

Kelli Hykes, who works in health policy and volunteers for Greg Whitten, the Democratic candidate in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District race, said she thought carefully about how to vote on the immigration measure, but refused to share his choice.

“It’s so polarizing, and there are people in my family who are going to vote one way and me another,” Hykes said.

Proposition 314 would make it a state crime for people to illegally enter Arizona from Mexico outside of official ports of entry, allowing local and state law enforcement officers to arrest them and state judges to order their expulsion. Those who enforce the law would be shielded from civil suits.

However, these provisions would not be applicable immediately. A violator cannot be prosecuted until a similar law in Texas or another state has been in effect for 60 consecutive days.

Arizona Republican lawmakers who voted to place the measure on the ballot were referring to Texas Senate Bill 4. The bill, signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in December, was supposed to allow local and state law enforcement to arrest people accused of entering Texas illegally from Mexico.

A federal appeals court suspended it in March. The following month, a panel of federal judges heard from a Texas lawyer defending the law and Justice Department lawyers arguing that it encroached on the federal government’s immigration enforcement authority. . The panel has not yet made its decision.

Other provisions of Proposition 314 are not dependent on similar laws outside of Arizona. If voters approve the measure, selling fentanyl resulting in a person’s death would immediately be a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and a felony for noncitizens who submit false documents when applying for a job or trying to receive benefits. state and federal programs.

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