On Monday, the Arizona House of Representatives passed, on a party-line vote, House Bill 2099 that requires the Governor and Attorney General to cooperate with federal actions, orders and programs that relate to the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Teresa Martinez, “mandates that the Governor, the Attorney General (AG) and each county, city and town must enforce, administer and cooperate with actions, orders and programs that relate to the enforcement of federal immigration laws until January 20, 2029.”
The question now becomes whether Governor Katie Hobbs will sign the bill or veto it.
“Hobbs is stuck between a left-wing party base that wants open borders and a state that has suffered from open borders and wants peace and security,” observed one Capitol insider, “and she has capitulated to her party base every time, so why would this time be any different?”
Earlier this month, she vetoed another immigration enforcement bill dubbed the AZ ICE Act.
The AZ ICE Act, SB 1164, would have kept Arizona “communities safe by ensuring state cooperation with the Trump Administration’s enforcement of federal immigration laws,” according to Senate President Warren Petersen.
SB 1164 would have prohibited 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. If cities, towns, or counties failed to comply, state lawmakers could have filed a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General requesting an investigation, potentially leading to state-shared revenues being withheld. Additionally, the bill would have required county sheriffs and the Arizona Department of Corrections to comply with immigration detainer requests, preventing criminal illegal aliens from being released back on the streets.
The federal Immigration and Nationality Act of 1996 prescribes the powers of immigration officers and employees which includes a federal immigration program, commonly referred to as the 287(g) Program, that allows the U.S. Attorney General to enter into agreements with a state or any political subdivision of the state to authorize qualified state and local employees and officers to act as federal immigration officers to enforce federal immigration laws, including the investigation, apprehension and detention of aliens in the United States (8 U.S.C. § 1357).
Currently, state officials and agencies, counties, cities, towns and other political subdivisions of the state may not be prohibited or restricted from sending, receiving or maintaining information relating to immigration status, lawful or unlawful, or from exchanging that information with any other federal, state or local governmental entity to: 1) determine eligibility for a public benefit, service or license; 2) verify any claim of residence or domicile if the determination is required under state law or judicial order; 3) if the person is an alien, determining whether the person is in compliance with prescribed federal registration laws; and 4) comply with federal law (A.R.S. § 11-1051).
