Proposition 314, the so-called 'Secure the Border Act,' will secure nothing, cause human suffering and cost taxpayers a bundle.
By EJ Montini, The Arizona Republic
Sometimes it’s the little things that expose the dark underbelly of a political maneuver.
Last spring, when the Republicans who control the Arizona Legislature were pushing through a resolution that would put a grotesque version of Arizona’s disastrous Senate Bill 1070 on the ballot this November, visitors in the state Capitol gallery hissed their disagreement with Republican state Sen. John Kavanagh.
To which he replied, “I’m sorry if I offended any criminals in the gallery.”
That, essentially, is the gist of the fallaciously named “Secure the Border Act,” which will appear on the November ballot as Proposition 314.
It’s all about making assumptions about people. Wrong ones.
Proposition would turn police into border patrol
This week, after having been challenged by opponents, the Arizona Supreme Court decided that the proposition met the criteria under the state constitution’s single-subject rule and can go before voters.
Unfortunately, common sense and human decency are not among the requirements to get something on the ballot. And bigotry is not a disqualifier.
Proposition 314 would essentially turn police officers into border patrol agents, no matter where in the state they work. Like SB 1070, it is a show-me-your-papers disaster, the kind of policy that caused a colossal amount of unnecessary hardship and resentment and has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
The nonpartisan Grand Canyon Institute issued a report estimating that the GOP’s latest iteration of that law could cost taxpayers at least $325 million a year, and possibly a lot more.
Worse, it adds immunity to protect bad actors
Back when the GOP at the State Capitol was ramming this through along party lines, Alejandra Gomez, executive director of the nonprofit LUCHA (Living United for Change in Arizona) issued a statement on the proposition saying, “If Prop. 314 reaches the ballot box this November, many Arizonans will be disproportionately targeted and subjected to suspicion and persecution. This discriminatory legislation will lead to over-policing in every community across our state.
“Arizonans, even those hundreds of miles from the border, will be under the intense scrutiny of law enforcement. A routine traffic stop could quickly escalate into an inquiry about citizenship status and possible detainment based solely on the color of your skin and your last name.”
We know from SB 1070 the kind of ill will that legislation like this can create, and the damage it can do to the state’s reputation. And so do the people who crafted it.
That’s why the proposition has a clause saying that a “state or local government entity, official, employee or contractor is immune from liability from damages arising” from enforcement of the law.
The people behind this garbage not only expect unwarranted bigotry. They’re willing to protect it.
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