PHOENIX — The activist group Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) has filed suit to block a controversial bill that would allow Arizona law enforcement to arrest people illegally crossing the border.
HCR 2060, also known as the "Secure the Border Act" recently cleared the state legislature and is now slated to appear on the ballot in November — letting voters decide whether or not they want it.
If approved, the bill would make it a state crime to cross the Arizona-Mexico border anywhere except a port of entry, opening immigration enforcement responsibilities to local law enforcement.
“This referendum is as defective as it is devious,” said Attorney Jim Barton, of Barton Mendez Soto, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of LUCHA. “The defect that is ripe for challenge, in which we are challenging in our lawsuit that we are filing this morning is that it enhances and embraces more than a single subject.”
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LUCHA initially planned to protest the bill during the House vote on Tuesday, but was denied access when House Speaker Ben Toma, a Republican, closed public access to the viewing gallery. Now, they're suing to stop the bill from ever reaching the ballot.
"Arizona is not going back. While Republicans are stuck in the 1800s, Arizona has since moved on from the extremism and hate that is HCR 2060," LUCHA said in a press release.
The group argues that the wide-reaching nature of HCR 2060 violates Arizona's single-subject rule, a provision of the law that stipulates that any one act must only deal with one main issue.
The bill was modeled upon a similar bill in Texas that is currently on hold. While the Texas bill allotted roughly $4 billion in funding over the next for years, Arizona's version has no such provisions. Critics of the bill, including high-ranking law enforcement officials, argue that this question of funding — which could potentially cost Arizona taxpayers $3.2 billion a year — is unacceptable when the state is already facing a major budget deficit.
Proponents of the measure say it’s needed because the federal government hasn’t done enough to stop people from crossing illegally over Arizona’s border with Mexico. They also said some people who enter Arizona without authorization commit identity theft and take advantage of public benefits.
The proposal includes exceptions for people who have been granted lawful presence status or asylum by the federal government.
The provision allowing for the arrests of border crossers in between ports would not take effect until the Texas law or similar laws from other states have been in effect for 60 days.
"Make no mistake as long as Arizona Republicans have the power to push their hate agenda, they will never stop trying to turn Arizona into a personal playground for Donald Trump’s policies." Said Alejandra Gomez, Executive Director of LUCHA. "Republicans can try and ignore us all they want, but on election day they will hear us, they will see us. We will build off our electoral success from 2020 and 2022, denying hate another term. Arizona voters have a chance to ensure our state does not become a sanctuary for hatred and bigots."
It’s an unwelcome sense of deja vu for Gina Mendez, who moved to Arizona with her family 20 years ago.
“When I moved to Arizona in 2004, I saw people, a community of people who look like me,” Mendez said.
When she protested a predecessor bill to the infamous SB1070 while in high school, her perception of her community changed.
“I remember walking out as a student, and people telling me to go back to Mexico. And I didn't understand that.” Mendez recalled.
Now the organizing director of LUCHA, Mendez didn’t think she’d be fighting the same fight 20 years later.
“There are still people in office from that time who were still trying to push legislation to harm black and brown communities and our immigrant communities and people who look like me,” Mendez said. “I didn't think that we would be here years later, still trying to fight back hatred.”
“There is a single subject rule that applies to this kind of thing, an initiative for new legislation,” said Paul Bender, a professor of law and Dean Emeritus of the Sandra Day O’Connor Law School at Arizona State University. “But it's a very weak rule, and I think as long as the subject, all of the parts are about the same general subject, I think it's okay, and I think all of these probably will survive with that.”
That doesn’t mean supporters of the Secure The Border Act should plan victory parties just yet. The same fate that befell SB 1070, could befall HCR 2060.
“It's basically the same problem as 1070,” warned Bender. “Immigration law is a federal subject. The states can do things in that area if Congress says they can but I'm not aware that Congress has done anything to authorize this kind of thing.”
Much like SB 1070, if the Secure The Border Act makes it to the ballot and is voted into law, parts of the Act could be deemed unconstitutional and scrapped.
“A lot of it, I think, is inconsistent with federal law, and would be challenged for that reason,” Bender said. “But you can't do that before the election. You have to wait until after it's adopted.”
Mendez and LUCHA vow to keep on the fight against HCR 2060 and push for other solutions.
“Our community needs to focus on legislation that's going to improve our people,” Mendez said. “There's a housing crisis, there's so many different issues. We are in a billion-dollar deficit, so we need to focus on solutions, and we don't need to focus on things that are going to harm our communities.”
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