Arizona sheriff backs state border bill but raises funding worry

(NewsNation) — The sheriff of Arizona’s Cochise County voiced support for a Republican-backed border security bill that could go to voters next year while pushing back against concerns that it could lead to racial profiling by law enforcement.

Sheriff Mark Dannels said Wednesday on “NewsNation Now” he backs the “spirit” and “intent” of the HCR 2060 or “Secure the Border Act” bill, which is similar to Texas’ law giving local police more authority to make immigration arrests. However, he raised concerns about how the state would fund agencies to take on increased immigration enforcement duties.

“The intent of the bill, the spirit of the bill, I support 100%,” Dannels said. “How do we fund it? … That’s where the problem lies.”

The bill has stalled in the Arizona Senate after a Republican member wanted to keep protections in place for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Dannels said that issue was slowing the bill’s progress, with the Senate expected to take it up again next week.

While supporting greater immigration enforcement, Dannels rejected the notion it would inevitably involve racial profiling of Hispanics. A local opinion writer wrote this week there’s “no such thing as an immigration crackdown without racial profiling — not in Arizona or any place else in America.”

“I don’t agree with that,” Dannels said, though he acknowledged such concerns stemmed from Arizona’s controversial “show me your papers” law a decade ago. With the new border bill, he said, “if an agency or law enforcement agency … is doing that racial profiling, shame on that leader.”