$50 Million to Enforce ‘Secure Border Act’: A Recipe for Constitutional Collision

A Republican-backed bill in Arizona proposing to allocate $50 million from the state general fund to the Department of Public Safety has advanced through its initial legislative phase. The funding is aimed at enforcing so-called “border-related crimes” and implementing Proposition 314, a measure approved by voters in the November election.

Proposition 314 classifies illegal border crossing as a state crime, permitting local law enforcement to detain and arrest migrants. However, lawmakers did not set aside funds during its formulation, despite feedback from law enforcement officials indicating a necessity for financial support in enforcement efforts.

To address this funding gap, Rep. Quang Nguyen, R-Prescott Valley, has introduced House Bill 2606. “If we are going to ask law enforcement to perform additional duties, we need to have that money,” Nguyen stated before the House Committee on Public Safety and Law Enforcement.

Yet, the appropriations could incite constitutional challenges against the law. The Arizona Constitution mandates that any ballot measure increasing state expenditures must identify separate funding sources, explicitly prohibiting the use of the state’s general operating account. Nguyen’s proposal seeks to draw that $50 million from the general fund.

Despite potential constitutional implications, the committee meeting focused on the bill’s intent to facilitate the enforcement of Proposition 314. Representative Alexander Kolodin of Scottsdale queried Navajo County Sheriff David Clouse about his readiness to execute the voters’ will, while Nguyen emphasized the overwhelming voter support for the proposition.

Republican lawmakers dismissed concerns raised by their Democratic counterparts, reinforcing that Proposition 314 had gained significant public backing. Rep. John Gillette, R-Kingman, defended the measure, asserting that “mixed-status families” are violating the law and are subject to arrest.

Critics, however, highlighted the troubling consequences for immigrant families. Lan Hoang, operations director for the Arizona Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander for Equity Coalition, expressed grave concerns about using state resources to disrupt mixed-status families. During a heated exchange, Nguyen countered by pointing out that family separations occur regularly when crimes are committed.

Democratic Rep. Lorena Austin echoed Hoang’s apprehensions, characterizing the bill as overly broad and noting a disturbing uptick in family separations. “It is a very complicated situation. We have many people living in fear,” she remarked.

Historical precedents, including statements from former President Donald Trump about deporting mixed immigration status families, further elevate the stakes of this legislative proposal.

The bill successfully moved out of the committee, with only one Democrat, freshman lawmaker Kevin Volk from a contested southern Arizona district, supporting it. The legislation now awaits consideration by the House Appropriations Committee before it reaches the full House of Representatives.