Border state Arizona backs having local law enforcement arrest suspected illegal immigrants

close Video

Angel mom sounds off on border crisis as voters head to the polls

Angel mom Agnes Gibboney and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb discuss the role immigration will play in the 2024 presidential election on ‘Fox News @ Night.’

Voters in border state Arizona have approved Proposition 314, a measure that would allow local police to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the state amid concerns over border security.

Proposition 314 makes it a state crime for people to illegally enter Arizona from Mexico outside official ports of entry, permitting local and state law enforcement officers to arrest them and state judges to order their deportations. Those who enforce the law would be shielded from civil lawsuits.

The proposal won’t go into effect immediately, requiring a similar law in Texas or another state to be in effect for 60 consecutive days before a violator can be prosecuted. 

Republican lawmakers in Arizona argued the proposal would help secure the border after the Biden administration dealt with an unprecedented surge of illegal immigration. 

ANTI-TRAFFICKING ACTIVIST EXPOSES HOW ‘SLAVE LEDGER’ IS BEING USED BY SMUGGLERS TO CONTROL MIGRANTS

Proposition 314 makes it a state crime for people to illegally enter Arizona from Mexico outside official ports of entry. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

Opponents of the proposal argued it would harm Arizona’s economy and reputation, as well as lead to the racial profiling of Latinos. 

The proposal would allow local and state law enforcement officers to arrest migrants suspected of entering the state illegally, encroaching on the federal government’s power over border security. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool, File)

As illegal border crossings exploded under the Biden administration, President-elect Trump made the issue one of his top focuses on the 2024 campaign trail.

TRUMP THREATENS A 25% TARIFF ON MEXICO IF ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSINGS DON’T STOP

He has also pledged to terminate “every open borders policy of the Biden administration.”

Video

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

A Trump administration would also likely seek to restore the 2019 Remain-in-Mexico policy and bring back down the number of refugee admissions. On Monday, he announced an additional policy, promising to slap a 25% tariff on incoming goods from Mexico.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.