Arizona bill would allow killing of trespassers on property

(NewsNation) — Republicans in swing state Arizona are broadcasting a tough border stance with legislation aimed at punishing migrants who enter the United States illegally.

The proponent of one bill has suggested it would lawfully allow property owners to shoot and kill migrants criminally trespassing on their property.

Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs is expected to veto the trespassing bill as well as one that cleared the second of both houses Wednesday that would make it a state crime to enter Arizona illegally between ports of entry.

Arrests for illegal crossings topped 2 million for the first time in each of the government’s last two budget years, and Arizona in recent months emerged as the most popular area to cross.

The state Senate’s GOP said the “Arizona Border Invasion Act” would “protect Arizona citizens and communities from the crime and security threats associated with the current border invasion caused by the Biden Administration’s refusal to enforce immigration laws.”

Democratic Mayor of Tuscon Regina Romero joined “NewsNation Prime” to discuss the border crisis. The Tucson Sector, which encompasses most of Arizona’s border region, apprehended over 250,000 migrants in the first four months of the fiscal year, marking a 182% increase from the previous year.

The interview has been edited for clarity.

Natasha Zouves: The latest data shows that the Tucson sector, your sector, has been the largest area for migrant crossings in recent months, not Texas. What impact is this having on your community? What does it feel like on the ground?

Mayor Regina Romero: Well, first and foremost, Tucson has had a history as a city being on the front line of welcoming immigrants and asylum seekers, but I would say in the last year, we have seen the numbers going up to levels we have never seen before. And this is something that we are partnering with Pima County government, a nonprofit organization Casa Alitas which is part of Catholic Community Services. And we’ve been doing this with federal funds, making sure that we receive legally processed asylum seekers and then usually they spent about 24, anywhere from 24 to 72 hours in Tucson and they usually have family or friends that they connect to throughout the rest of the country. But March 31st, is the absolute deadline. This is when the city of Tucson and Pima County and Casa Alitas are going to run out of federal funds. And we are very concerned about the what’s going to happen after March 31 in terms of how we care for and help asylum seekers move throughout the rest of the country. So far, we’ve used federal funds for the help that we’ve been able to offer them. After the 31st, we don’t know how it’s going to get done.

Zouves: And meanwhile, we have heard about recent legislation from Arizona Republicans that would essentially allow people to kill someone suspected of trespassing on their property. What can you tell us about this bill? What residents are saying about it? And do you think this is the right thing to do?

Romero: It’s absolutely not the right thing to do. These are human beings we are we are talking about. Unfortunately, Republicans in the state legislature have been anti immigrant and working on anti immigrant legislation. I mean, people should remember that “Show me your papers” please law, that Arizona had been in the news headlines about 10 years ago SB1070 and other anti immigrant bills. And unfortunately, this is not new for Arizona. And it is very unfortunate that the federal government and Congress have refused to do their job, so that you get these types of laws throughout the rest of the country. Right. I usually like to remind people that this is the job of Congress, both Senate and House, and their refusal to do something about what’s happening or on our border is very devastating for cities and counties throughout the southern border. If you think about it, Natasha, is if I, as the mayor and my council would refuse to do something about funding our police, and what our police department does. That is our job. Congress refuses to do something about our broken immigration laws and they refuse to fund the needs of what are their broken immigration system is doing to cities and counties across the southern border.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.