Latino advocacy group sues to prevent Arizona from passing bill criminalizing unlawful immigration

A Latino advocacy group from Arizona has filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent a GOP-led initiative to put an immigration crackdown proposal on the ballot in November.

The proposal, voted this week by state lawmakers, makes it a state crime to enter Arizona through Mexico between ports of entry. It empowers local law enforcement to arrest those in infraction and judges to order their deportation. It also makes it a felony punishable with up to 10 years in prison to sell fentanyl that leads to a person's death.

However, group Living United for Change in Arizona and Democratic state Representative Oscar De Los Santos challenged the initiative in the courts. According to a report by The Associated Press, they allege it violates a rule in the state constitution that says legislative proposals must cover a single subject.

An lawyer for the group said the proposal deals with issues that are way to broad to be covered by a single law. "It's defective — and every single person who's involved in this knows that," Jim Barton told the outlet.

In contrast, local Republican leaders claim the challenges seek to prevent residents from voting on an issue that is key for them. "Arizonans have had enough and want change," House Speaker Ben Toma, a Republican, said in a statement.

As the situation at the border continues to be a liability for President Joe Biden and Democrats across the country, the argument goes, the measure could serve as an electoral boost for them, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

State Republicans had already tried to pass the measures as a law earlier this year, but Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs blocked the motion. In her veto, Gov. Hobbs said the measure "does not secure our border, will be harmful for communities and businesses in our state and burdensome for law enforcement."

She added that it could also potentially violate the U.S. Constitution by claiming what has been the federal government's exclusive power: to arrest and deport immigrants.

The bill is similar to SB4, a Texas law seeking to allow state law enforcement to arrest and deport migrants. The law's implementation has been suspended by a Court of Appeals. Several other Republican-led states like Iowa, Louisiana and Oklahoma have passed similar bills, with the Justice Department challenging them in the courts.

Gov. Hobbs has denounced the latest initiative. But unlike with the local bill, she doesn't have the power to veto Republicans from sending the motion directly to voters.

Opponents, however, say the bill won't deter migrants and will generate distrust between the Latino community and law enforcement, something that already happened when the so-called "show me your papers law" was enacted in 2010. 32% of the state's population is Latino.