Arizona judge rejects bid to keep Secure the Border Act off November ballot
Jul 15, 2024, 2:12 PM
A group of migrants are apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border protection officers after crossing into the U.S. on June 26, 2024, in Ruby, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
PHOENIX — An Arizona judge last week rejected an effort to keep the Secure the Border Act off the statewide 2024 general election ballot.
The Republican majority in the Legislature referred the measure to voters on June 4 by passing HCR2060. The proposal is now set to appear on the Nov. 5 ballot as Proposition 314.
Living United for Change in Arizona, a political advocacy group better known by the acronym LUCHA, filed a lawsuit a day after the Legislature passed the resolution.
The lawsuit argued that the measure violates the state’s single-subject rule. The single-subject rule is a constitutional provision that requires the contents of a voter initiative to be limited the topic reflected in its title.
🚨 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 'Secure the Border Act' Withstands Frivolous Constitutional Challenge, Will Appear on November Ballot
Full statement: https://t.co/uq894cWRfw pic.twitter.com/ujakp9GJzC
— AZSenateRepublicans (@AZSenateGOP) July 15, 2024
However, in a ruling issued Friday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Minder found that “HCR 2060 contains a single subject, namely ‘responses to harms relating to an unsecured border.'”
What would the Secure the Border Act do?
If approved by voters, Prop 314 would make it a state crime for people to cross the Arizona-Mexico border anywhere except a port of entry. It would also give state and local officers the power to arrest violators and let state judges order people to return to their home countries.
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In addition, the Secure the Border Act would make it a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison for selling fentanyl that leads to a person’s death and require some government agencies to use a federal database to verify a noncitizen’s eligibility for benefits.
Opponents have compared the proposal to SB1070, Arizona’s controversial “show-me-your-papers” law that passed in 2010 that was eventually partially struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Supporters say the measure is necessary because the federal government has failed to fulfill its duty of securing the border.
“My colleagues and I worked tirelessly this session to create impactful legislation to help secure our border because the people of Arizona are desperately asking for it,” Republican state Sen. Janae Shamp said in a press release Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
