In a shameless attempt to bury her news among the joyous noise of Easter weekend, Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) vetoed the AZ ICE Act late last week. This commonsense proposal would have protected our communities from criminal illegal aliens by prohibiting state government entities from adopting or enforcing any policies that block or restrict law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities to enforce federal immigration laws. As the governor’s first (and hopefully last) term of office nears its final year, this action is another slap in the face to Arizonans who have suffered greatly from the consequences of an open border under the Biden administration.
The AZ ICE Act was a reasonable piece of legislation to ensure all levels of state law enforcement were working with the Trump-led federal government to secure the border, enforce our laws, and protect innocent men, women, and children. It deserved bipartisan support, and very likely, in another era of American politics, it would have received Democrats’ buy-in to pass and become law. Sheriffs across our state had endorsed the bill, giving the policies within it even more credibility. However, Hobbs and Arizona Democrats chose to obstruct any and all efforts to bolster public safety and maximize security for our vulnerable communities.
This veto was not the first time Hobbs decided to obstruct Arizona Republicans’ efforts to help secure the border and save the lives of our citizens, and it comes mere months after she stood in front of legislators at the annual State of the State address, saying, “I’ve made border security a top priority … I will continue working with this legislature to protect our border because until all Arizonans feel secure in their communities, we will not be able to deliver on our promise of freedom and opportunity.”
Last year, the governor vetoed the Arizona Border Invasion Act, which would have “ma[de] it unlawful for a person who is an alien (unlawful immigrant) to enter Arizona from a foreign nation at any location other than a lawful port of entry and outline[d] penalties for violations of illegally entering Arizona.”
Her veto forced Arizona Republican legislators to send the Secure the Border Act to the November 2024 general election ballot, where it passed overwhelmingly, giving local law enforcement more resources and tools to mitigate the harms of illegal immigration upon unsuspecting citizens.
Two years ago, Hobbs vetoed even more bills sent to her desk by Republican lawmakers that would have kept families safe from drugs and crime. Those bills included proposals to designate drug cartels as terrorist organizations (HB 2675), deem the trafficking of fentanyl across Arizona’s border a public health crisis (HB 2469), and create a new class of felony offense for using an electronic device to engage in human smuggling (SB 1408). Hobbs also attempted to advance her extremist agenda through the fiscal year 2024 budget, proposing an end to state-funded border security resources to keep Arizona communities safe, a ploy Republicans identified and stopped in its tracks.
There have been other border security-related bills that Arizona Republicans have transmitted to the governor’s desk over the past three legislative sessions. And Hobbs has vetoed every one of the proposals. In doing so, she has aided and abetted a historic border crisis created by former President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who fueled utter lawlessness and chaos around the northern and southern United States borders. With Hobbs’s record on border security, it’s no wonder she’s been one of the nation’s least popular governors since her entrance into office.
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Arizona voters should be outraged that Democratic elected officials such as Katie Hobbs — not to mention U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, Attorney General Kris Mayes, and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes — are playing politics with vulnerable lives and livelihoods. There is no good reason why Hobbs could not sign the AZ ICE Act into law to ensure our state could fully join the Trump administration’s efforts to enforce federal immigration laws. Yet, Hobbs has let her hatred of President Donald Trump and all that he stands for affect her decision-making as the state’s chief executive. These continued antics are a disgrace to the office she holds, for the time being. She continues to betray her oath of office with these partisan shenanigans.
Americans and Arizonans can rest assured that Republicans will continue to work with law enforcement on solutions to the lingering negative effects of the Biden border crisis. While Democrats such as Katie Hobbs and company are leading the resistance to Trump and border security, Republicans are committed to standing with the great people of this country, who all deserve an opportunity to live in their communities without fear of the dangerous effects of an open border. We will not fail our children and grandchildren as we seek to provide a safer and more secure country for their future.
Andy Biggs represents Arizona’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and is a candidate to be Arizona’s governor. Warren Petersen is the Arizona Senate president, the sponsor of the ICE Act, and a candidate to be Arizona’s attorney general.