YUMA, AZ — As the nation's eyes return to the southern border ahead of an expected policy announcement from President Joe Biden on Tuesday, Arizona's lawmakers traveled to Yuma to see the border with their own eyes.
A delegation of House Republicans from districts across the state were in the border town to observe border activity, meet with local leaders including the Yuma County Supervisors, and visit a local crisis shelter.
"What really jumped out to me is just how routine it's all been," state Rep. Justin Wilmeth, R-15th District, said at a press conference in Yuma following the tour Monday. "You've got the Border Patrol doing their job - they're doing everything they're supposed to, that they can do - and you've got these illegal immigrants who are coming over and they're standing there very calmly. They know the drill."
In Arizona - and soon, nationally - we'll see competing plans on how to address record-high immigration via the southern border.
"This is fundamentally the federal government's job, but they are not doing it," Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma, R-27th District, said.
One solution, according to legislative Republicans in the Grand Canyon State, is to give local law enforcement the power to arrest those suspected of crossing the border illegally. Currently, local agencies such as police and sheriff's offices are not able to arrest those who cross the border illegally, and they could face lawsuits from both the federal government and individuals if they do.
Republicans said their plan would give local law enforcement the ability to take care of their own communities in what they perceived as an absence of federal leadership.
"Let us do something to at least have a tool in the toolbox that allows us to put an end to what's going on," pleaded state Rep. Leo Biasiucci, R-30th District, on Monday.
The Republicans' plan, House Concurrent Resolution 2060, dubbed the "Secure the Border Act" - is expected to face constitutional challenges if enacted into law. Courts have previously ruled that immigration issues need to be left up to the federal government alone.
Lawmakers hope to send HCR 2060 to voters directly in the form of a November ballot referral. A final vote necessary to make the ballot is expected to take place in the Arizona House, which has a Republican majority that already passed a version of the proposal, on Tuesday.
If voters approve of Republicans' immigration enforcement plan, local entities could be expected to start taking on arrests, prosecutions, jail stays, court dates, and other potential peripheral impacts such as referrals to child services.
Yuma County Sheriff Leon N. Wilmot told ABC15 he had major issues with the current federal system of immigration enforcement.
"Nothing about the current policies of this administration is humane," Wilmot said, referring to the Biden administration.
However, Wilmot voiced a long list of concerns about HCR 2060. When asked by ABC15 if Yuma County would be able to handle the impacts of an HCR 2060 passage, Wilmot said it would not.
"It will break the budget. And our county doesn't have the revenue to be able to handle that."
Wilmot, who has been sheriff since 2013, added that his jail is already facing financial troubles over unreimbursed costs from holding migrants. He estimated he would need an additional $1 million annually, at minimum, in order to keep up with the new demands of HCR 2060 on the county's jail system.
When ABC15 asked lawmakers how they anticipated funding the local entities that would be taking on the financial costs of arrests, holds, and prosecutions, they said Republicans did not have sole control of the budget and finances would need to be negotiated with other parties.
Critics of HCR 2060 also fear some minority communities could be targeted if the proposal passes.
"There's issues of racial profiling, there's language in the bill that still gives civil immunity to police officers," said Karime Rodriguez, who protested against HCR 2060 at a Senate session in May.
On a national level, according to the Associated Press, Biden will unveil an executive order Tuesday that would shut down asylum requests at the U.S.-Mexico border once the average number of daily encounters hits 2,500 at ports of entry, with the border reopening only once that number declines to 1,500. That cutoff would essentially shut down the border imminently, as encounters currently reach a daily average of around 4,000.
