For a big day at the Arizona House, it was
a quiet House chamber during a controversial vote because the
House Speaker closed the gallery to the public before listening
to nearly two hours of arguments from both sides.
But in the end, House Republicans passed a bill to
let voters decide if local law enforcement can arrest people
crossing the border illegally.
Steve Nielsen is live tonight outside the Capitol after it
passed along party lines.
Steve.
Yeah.
You know, whatever you want to call this bill really
depends on what member you're a party of.
Democrats say that this bill will allow for racial profiling.
Republicans say this bill will help us defend our border.
The chairs in the gallery sat empty.
No applause, no cheers.
Speaker Ben Toma closed the House to the public.
Were members from this very chamber colluding with them to,
to, to, to cause chaos in in this building today?
I'm not OK with that.
But in the lobby of the House, you can hear
it all.
And the public place where we're able to go see
what our government is doing got shut down.
Back inside the chamber, the House voted on party lines
to put HCR 2060 or the Secure the Border Act
on the ballot in November, bypassing the governor's desk.
Nearly every legislator spoke.
Republicans put a huge stop to a number of rapes,
murders, getaways, sex trafficking, fentanyl death, terrorist child abuse, extortion
and cartel violence.
It's a disgrace what is happening in our country and
the Democrats.
When I took office, I swore to defend the Arizona
Constitution.
I grew up in fear.
HB 2060 will continue to allow this type of fear
to fester in our communities and our mixed status families.
The bill would make it a state crime for non
citizens to cross the border anywhere other than a port
of entry.
That means local and state police could make arrests and
Arizona judges could order people back to their country of
origin.
Some estimates pay the cost to enforce in the hundreds
of millions.
Republicans say it was necessary because the Biden administration has
failed.
Tuesday, the president crafted a new executive order with benchmarks
to close the border.
The Constitution is quite clear that the enforcement of immigration
laws is a federal responsibility.
Back to the lobby.
Democrat state Rep Annalise Ortiz spoke over the sound.
It drags us back to the dark days of SB1070
when so many of our mixed status families have to
live in absolute fear and terror.
So again, this will head to the November ballot.
But even if it passes with the voters, it's still
unclear what it would actually take effect.
It's closely tied to a Texas State law that's very
similar and tied up in the courts right now.
The Arizona law would only take effect sixty days after
that Texas law got final approval.
Reporting Live.
Steven Nielsen, FOX 10 News.