Immigration lawyer talks AZ’s status as ground zero for immigration
Delia Salvatierra discusses Donald Trump’s plans to deport undocumented migrants and Arizona’s status as ground zero for immigration on Nov. 21, 2024.
Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) filed a lawsuit against the State of Arizona to dismantle the Secure the Border Act, which voters passed through Proposition 314 in November, arguing that the Legislature deceived Arizona voters when they failed to identify a funding source to enforce the law.
On April 2 during a news conference outside the Superior Court of Arizona, LUCHA leadership said the law was “unconstitutional” and announced their plans to combat the legislation they have frequently criticized as being anti-immigrant.
“We are here to fight back against the rising tide of authoritarianism,” Alejandra Gomez, Executive Director of LUCHA said during the news conference. “We have lived through this before. We remember the trauma of SB 1070.”
LUCHA, a nonprofit organization based in Phoenix that advocates for immigrant rights, has been at the helm of the fight against the GOP’s anti-immigrant agenda, even before Donald Trump retook the White House. In 2024, as the collection of Republican-backed bills that ultimately became Prop. 314 made its way through the Arizona Legislature, LUCHA leadership, joined by other prominent civil and immigrant rights activists, spoke out against its passing.
The lawsuit, filed early April 2, calls for the dismantling of the Secure the Border Act based on three counts: failing to provide a new revenue source for its enforcement; attempting to define probable cause — a power belonging only to the judicial branch — and adhering the law’s enforcement to the outcome of the similar Texas’s SB 4.
Passed by 63% of Arizona voters during the 2024 election, Prop. 314 created a series of new state crimes that directly impact immigrants living and entering Arizona, including the sale of fentanyl resulting in death, the use of false information when applying for government benefits and, as a result, the required use of E-Verify.
But the change that sparked the most criticism was the criminalization of unauthorized border crossings, allowing state officials to arrest and deport individuals they suspect of doing so. Activists and critics have said that this move mimics the former 2010 Senate Bill 1070 law, often referred to as the “show me your papers” law, suggesting that the provision can lead to civil rights abuse and racial profiling.
Martin Hernandez, an organizer with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 99 and plaintiff in the lawsuit, said during the news conference that he and his union were ready to stand with LUCHA in their fight against Prop. 314.
“Let me be clear, this law will not make anyone safer. If the people in our neighborhoods are too afraid to call the police, that makes everyone less safe,” Hernandez said.
State Senate Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan also spoke in support of the lawsuit, saying that “when political extremists’ agendas override basic human rights, it’s up to all of us to push back.”
In an interview with La Voz / The Arizona Republic prior to the filing of the suit, Gomez said Prop. 314 fuels the intentions carried by the Trump administration to conduct massive deportations.
“In essence, it is the gateway to allow the erosion of constitutional rights that community members have of due process,” Gomez said. “It puts Arizona back into the center stage of the longstanding that we have had Arizona being a test ground for really egregious bills.”
Three-pronged lawsuit
James Barton, the lawyer representing LUCHA in the lawsuit, said Prop. 314 is “plainly unconstitutional” on three counts.
According to court documents obtained by The Republic, LUCHA claims the law violates the Revenue Source Rule of the Arizona Constitution, which mandates that proposed initiatives and referendums list funding sources, which GOP sponsors and backers did not address.
Citing a fiscal note from the Joint Legislative Budget Committee dated May 2024, Barton said the enforcement of the law would not only result in increased spending for law enforcement across the state but also lead to a decline in immigration, which would reduce state and local tax collections.
The second count states that the law violates the separation of powers clause of the Arizona Constitution when via the approval of this law, the Legislature tried to define probable cause, a power delegated to the judicial branch.
The third count, per court documents, calls on the delegation of law-making powers to the Texas State Legislature via the SB 4 clause of Prop 314.
Parts of the Secure the Border Act are heavily dependent on the court’s determination to uphold Texas’s SB 4, a law similar to Arizona’s. The U.S. Justice Department challenged the Texas law during the Biden administration and has been stuck in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ever since.
Barton said delegating powers to another state legislature is unconstitutional.
‘Draconian bills’
Gomez said legislation like Prop. 314 and 13 other “anti-immigrant” bills being debated at the Arizona Legislature are putting Arizona back into the spotlight for its “draconian bills.”
Bills mentioned by LUCHA include SB 1164, which would require state law enforcement agencies to cooperate with ICE, and SB 1111, which would create a bounty system for the arrest and eventual deportation of undocumented immigrants.
Other bills that would help further Trump’s agenda are:
- SB 1088, which would mandate all public entities and their independent contractors to comply with all federal laws, rules, regulations or orders that relate to immigration and deportation, with penalties for entities and contractors who don’t comply.
- HB 2099, which requires local government cooperation with federal immigration authorities, including compelling the governor and state attorney general to cooperate.
Sundareshan said the Secure the Border Act is about “control, fear, terror and punishment,” adding that it was “just the tip of the iceberg” of the MAGA agenda at the Arizona Legislature.
“Prop. 314 — or any of these other bills we see in this session — are not just a single policy. They are a pattern. It is a pattern of coordinated extremist agenda to bring Trump’s mass deportation plan to life and Arizona is being used as a proving ground,” Sundareshan said.
Have story tips on Latino communities in the Valley? Reach La Voz reporter Paula Soria at psoriaaguilar@gannett.com.
Have story tips on Latino culture and cuisine in the Valley? Reach La Voz reporter David Ulloa at david.ulloa@gannett.com.
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