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“This is more than a victory,” said organizers in Arizona. “It is a mandate. A signal that voters are ready for fearless leadership, not capitulation, not confusion, but action.” By Julia Conley September 24, 2025 Economic and social justice organizers in Arizona applauded Wednesday after Democrat Adelita Grijalva, the daughter of late US Rep. Raúl Grijalva and a longtime local political leader, easily won a special election to succeed her father and represent the state’s 7th District in Congress. The local organization Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) emphasized that in the primary election she won in July and her contest against Republican opponent Daniel Butierez, Grijalva ran a campaign “fueled by working-class voters, young people, Latinos, and long-time movement builders.” “As the first Latina elected to represent Arizona, her win sends a clear message: The old playbook isn’t working, and voters are demanding something different,” said the group. “This is more than a victory. It is a mandate. A signal that voters are ready for fearless leadership, not capitulation, not confusion, but action.” Grijalva campaigned on defending Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security from Republican cuts and attacks; protecting workers’ right to unionize; and lowering the cost of housing. She won endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) ahead of the primary. “Adelita’s win is a turning point,” said Alejandra Gomez, executive director of LUCHA. “She’s not going to Congress to blend in. She’s going to lead, to fight, and to remind the Democratic Party what it looks like to be grounded in people, not corporate donors.” It is unclear when Grijalva will officially be sworn in, with the House out of session until October and lawmakers currently working to avert a government shutdown that could begin October 1, but when she takes office the Democrats will have narrowed the Republican Party’s majority to 219-214. There are two remaining vacancies that also need to be filled. The grassroots progressive group Our Revolution called Grijalva’s victory “a big step toward building the progressive power we need to block MAGA’s extremist agenda and deliver for working people.” “There’s real energy right now for a different kind of politics, one that puts working people first. Voters are tired of politicians who hide in the pockets of their billionaire donors,” said Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party. “We know that Adelita is going to be a tireless fighter for working families in her district.” Grijalva’s victory also gives a crucial 218th vote to a bipartisan effort led by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to force a vote ordering the Justice Department to release unredacted files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who died in prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019 and who was a friend of President Donald Trump. Grijalva said this week that “if elected, on my very first day in Congress, I’ll sign the bipartisan discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has refused to call a vote on releasing the files, which Trump opposes. Khanna and Massie introduced a discharge petition to circumvent the House leadership, which has been signed by every Democratic member. Three Republicans—Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia—have joined the Democrats in supporting the maneuver, and Grijalva’s signature will give the Democrats the 218th vote they need. Grijalva told CNN ahead of the election that she heard on the campaign trail from voters who want the files to be released. “They believe the survivors deserve justice,” said Grijalva, “and Congress must fulfill its duty to check the executive branch and hold Trump accountable.” Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) said Grijalva will be “a true progressive fighter and partner in our fight against authoritarianism.” “Arizona’s delegation just got even stronger,” she said. Read Original Article Here

By: Alejandra Gomez Executive Director, LUCHA On Tuesday, Adelita Grijalva won a resounding victory in the CD7 special election. When the dust settles, one thing should be clear: This victory didn’t happen by chance. It was the result of months of disciplined, strategic organizing led by Grijalva, and by grassroots organizations who know that Arizona deserves progressive champions in Congress. From the start, LUCHA backed Adelita Grijalva because she has always shown up for our community, and we didn’t stop at an endorsement. We got to work. We were the first organization in this race to endorse, knock on doors, and invest in reaching voters at scale. LUCHA knocked on over 26,000 doors, supported partners in their televised ads, and spent more than a quarter million dollars to make sure voters heard directly from people they trust. In addition, LUCHA was able to assemble a progressive coalition of partners early to rally voter education efforts and collectively knock on nearly 100,000 doors. People power and community connection are what made Grijalva the winning candidate. But you wouldn’t know any of that if you only read the national coverage. Pundits who parachuted into this race labeled Adelita an “establishment candidate,” ignoring decades spent defending Mexican American Studies, expanding preschool, fighting for reproductive rights, and affordable housing. Not for headlines, but because it was the right thing to do. This is the same national media that spent 2024 blaming Latinos and progressives for Kamala Harris’s loss, as if we are convenient punching bags whenever Democrats fail to inspire. But the truth is, voters are tired of candidates who think they can skip the work and win by association and algorithm. Politics is personal, and performative progressivism doesn’t hold up when your record is thin, and it’s hardly ever rewarded at the ballot box. While many assumed Adelita’s name recognition in Pima County would carry the day, the data told a more complicated story elsewhere. Maricopa County was an area where Latino voters were less likely to be contacted by campaigns, and where traditional political infrastructure often overlooked working-class communities. That’s why LUCHA invested early in those neighborhoods. And it made a difference: Preliminary data shows LUCHA’s ground game had a measurable impact on the outcome. In Maricopa precincts where LUCHA canvassed, voter turnout was 3.5% higher and Grijalva’s vote share was 2% higher than in precincts without LUCHA’s presence. By strategically targeting both high-propensity Democrats and overlooked Latino voters, we helped shape the outcome. We also knew this race was about something bigger than any single candidate. After 2024, when Latino turnout dipped, it was obvious that even high-propensity voters needed authentic engagement. So we knocked on doors in places no one else did, like Gila Bend, because every voter deserved a conversation about the stakes. This campaign was a referendum on more than two candidates. It was a test of whether grassroots power, strategic investment, and values-driven organizing could overcome stale politics, cynicism, and the tired narratives imposed by pundits who don’t know Arizona and don’t care to learn. Together, we passed that test. This victory wasn’t an accident. It was a choice to believe in our communities instead of letting consultants or headlines define us. Grijalva and supporters proved that you don’t have to choose between being progressive and being strategic. We can be both. We must be both. There are lessons here for all. To progressive organizations across this country: Don’t wait. Don’t let fear or conventional wisdom convince you that a race isn’t worth the fight. To every individual feeling scared, disaffected, and overwhelmed by the state of this nation: take heart in this progressive win! Find a political home—with LUCHA, your neighborhood, or another group you believe in. The only way we can build the Arizona and country we deserve is by relentlessly organizing. Congratulations to the first Latina who will represent Arizona in Congress, Adelita Grijalva. For LUCHA, this victory is proof of what is possible when you bet on the people and show up first. Join our movement! Let’s keep making change and making history together. Read Original Article

By: Alejandra Gomez Executive Director, LUCHA At a time when our democracy is under constant attack, representation can’t just look good on paper. At LUCHA, we believe it has to mean something. It has to be earned through action, sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to the community. That’s why LUCHA is proud to stand firmly behind Adelita Grijalva in her campaign for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District. Adelita isn’t new to the work; she’s been in the trenches for decades, fighting for public education, immigrant families, environmental justice, and reproductive freedom. She doesn’t need to borrow progressive language or poll-test her positions, she lives them every day. More importantly, Adelita never had to cosplay as a progressive, because she is one through and through. Some candidates in this race have spent years carefully curating an image of progressivism, positioning themselves as allies when it’s politically convenient, while their actual record tells another story. The truth is, there’s a difference between performing solidarity and practicing it. And voters deserve to know which is which. Seventh district voters are smart. We’ve seen a rise in candidates who show up in our neighborhoods during election season, carefully rehearsed in the language of empathy and equity. They mimic our movements, flatter our leadership, and attend just enough community events to be seen, all while quietly distancing themselves from the actual demands of justice. It’s a performance, and it’s exhausting. What’s even more dangerous is when these political actors convince voters they’re part of the movement, only to legislate and govern in ways that betray our communities the moment they’re elected. We’ve seen it happen before: the promises, the photo ops, the immediate pivot to the right—then the silence when we need them to speak out most. Whether it’s voting to defund public education, staying quiet on anti-immigrant bills, or failing to stand up to corporate greed, too many so-called allies have proven they’re only down when it’s safe. Adelita Grijalva is not one of them. She’s the only candidate in this race who has always shown up, not just for the applause, but for the hard fights, for the community. With over 25 years at the Pima County Teen Court, she began guiding youth and families in Southern Arizona long before stepping into office. Adelita spent 20 years on the TUSD board, in an unpaid position, defending Mexican-American Studies and expanding preschool in underserved schools. As the first Latina chair of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, she spearheaded affordable housing investments, climate initiatives, and countywide preschool programs. She’s walked picket lines with educators during Red for Ed and beyond, stood up for immigrant families, and fought for housing and healthcare as basic human rights. Let’s also be clear: calling Adelita an “establishment candidate” or dismissing her as someone just riding her last name to victory is a cheap shot and a fundamental misunderstanding of who she is, and who her family is in this community. The Grijalvas don’t show up in our neighborhoods because it’s convenient or performative. They show up because they care, because they always have, because this is their neighborhood. Their contributions to Southern Arizona are not transactional; they are a reflection of decades of shared struggle and solidarity. Adelita doesn’t pick battles based on political convenience. She fights them all, because they are connected, and because many Arizonans’ lives are on the line. Her opponents may try to manufacture proximity to the community. They may drop Spanish words into their press releases, stage neighborhood photo shoots, and adopt slogans that sound vaguely justice-oriented. But proximity is not solidarity. And no amount of branding can cover up a career of self-interest and political miscalculation. The stakes in this election couldn’t be higher. We’re not just fighting against authoritarianism, climate disaster, and economic exploitation; we’re fighting against apathy and amnesia. We’re fighting to remind Arizona what real leadership looks like: rooted, tested, and unafraid. Adelita Grijalva knows what it means to carry a legacy, not just her late father’s, but her own. She has earned her stripes, her grit, and her reputation not through entitlement but through relentless fighting and advocacy. When it comes down to it, this is about power, and who we trust to wield it in our name. Arizona, don’t be fooled by polished ads and cute TikTok videos. Look at the record. Look at the receipts. Ask yourself who has truly been there: during elections and in the darkest, hardest moments. Ask yourself who will keep showing up when the cameras are gone. For LUCHA, the answer is clear: Adelita Grijalva is the only candidate in this race who has consistently walked the walk. And we’re proud to walk with her now, all the way to Washington, DC. We deserve a champion. And Adelita is ours. Read Original Article

Joanna Jacobo Rivera, May 5, 2025 Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs once again vetoed Republican-backed immigration bills approved at the end of April, which would have obligated law enforcement and state public officials to comply with federal immigration orders. Senate Bill 1610 and House Bill 2099 were approved last week by the Republican-majority chambers and were shot down on Friday by the Democratic governor who has resisted fully giving in to President Donald Trump’s harsh anti-immigrant agenda, focusing her support on border-related policy and disapproving of state-endorsed immigration enforcement debated at the Legislature. SB 1610 would have obligated Arizona county jails to share personal information of any detained person with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on a daily basis or upon request should they be held on lower level offenses, like burglary, theft and shoplifting. HB 2099 would have obligated state officials to comply with immigration orders. In her veto letters, Hobbs said she was committed to working with the federal government “on true border security,” but would not allow state officials to place extreme burden on local law enforcement or to hand state decision-making authority over Washington D.C. These latest rejections followed her veto in April of SB 1164 , dubbed the Arizona ICE Act and introduced by State Senators Warren Petersen and T.J. Shope. It would have mandated local and state law enforcement agencies to collaborate with ICE officials in facilitating the detainment of undocumented individuals for up to 48 hours without a court order. The law would have also prohibited the adoption of policies banning this type of cooperation. In her rejection of the bill , Hobbs said that she would continue to comply with federal orders to enforce border security, “but we should not force state and local officials to take marching orders from Washington D.C.” Local immigrant rights activists applauded her veto of the bills, in particular SB 1610. Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) , a Phoenix-based immigrant advocacy group, wrote in a statement that the bill was “disguised to smuggle authoritarianism into law.” The veto marked “a win for civil rights, for due process, and for every Arizonan,” LUCHA wrote in an Instagram post on Friday. “Now we keep fighting — because the MAGA agenda hasn’t slowed down, and we won’t either.” Slew of immigrant-targeting proposals Several immigration-focused legislative proposals were introduced this session at the start of the year, in line with Trump’s return to the White House. At least 13 bills adhere to the president’s agenda, like SB 1111 , which would create a bounty for arrests that lead to deportations. and SB 1088 , which would obligate all federal agencies and any independent contractors they work with to comply with immigration-mandated orders. With the latest vetoes, however, GOP leaders could very well look to voters again to approve the rejected measures, similar to what they did with Proposition 314, which received overwhelming approval during the general election in November. Last year, Hobbs vetoed the then-dubbed Arizona Invasion Act, introduced by Republican Sen. Janae Shamp and fully backed by GOP legislators. The series of bills was later packaged under the House Concurrent Resolution 2060, approved by Senate and House majority and, due to its nature not requiring governor approval, was streamlined onto the ballot as Prop. 314. The approved measure vastly mirrors what once was SB 1070, the controversially dubbed “show me your papers” law that was later partially struck down due to countless lawsuits involving racial profiling concerns. Prop. 314 allows local and state law agencies to enforce immigration law, which currently only falls under federal jurisdiction, making unauthorized immigration a state crime. It also shields officers from lawsuits, including cases of racial profiling.  The measure, however, has not gone into effect as it tied to the outcome of a similar law in Texas, SB 4, which was constitutionally challenged by the Department of Justice under the Biden administration and has been stuck in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ever since. Read Original Article Here: https://www.sfweekly.com/news/state/a-win-for-civil-rights-hobbs-rejects-republican-backed-immigrations-bills/article_8936fe93-a0db-5b3a-a317-56afc440681e.html

By: Alejandra Gomez Executive Director, LUCHA Every year around Tax Day, we hear the same tired story: “Arizona just doesn’t have enough money.” Lawmakers wring their hands about budget shortfalls, while proposing cuts to schools, healthcare, and housing—again. But the truth is, Arizona isn’t broke. It’s being robbed. For years, politicians have drained our public coffers with tax cuts for billionaires and mega-corporations. Former Gov. Doug Ducey’s flat tax scheme gutted Arizona’s ability to invest in the services we all rely on—public schools, AHCCCS/Medicaid, housing programs, and even basic infrastructure . On top of that, Ducey pushed through a deeply flawed universal private school voucher program that siphons millions away from public schools to subsidize wealthy families, without transparency or accountability. His decisions, cheered on by special interests, handed billions to the rich while leaving working families with less at every turn. Now, MAGA Republicans are doubling down. They’re not just proposing more tax breaks— they’re openly pushing to defund the government itself . That means cuts to government services that serve the needs of the people, like public education, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and AHCCCS, all while scapegoating immigrants and dividing our communities with fear. This isn’t just policy failure—it’s highway robbery, plain and simple . And the cost is being felt across Arizona. Take Johann Sproule, a retired mine worker from Douglas, Arizona. He worked physically demanding jobs for 45 years, yet found himself struggling to afford essential medications and healthcare due to challenges navigating the healthcare system. “Every month I had to choose between buying necessary medications or paying for utilities and food,” Johann said. “Due to miscommunications and delays between healthcare providers and Medicare, I went two months without critical healthcare. I regained coverage only after personally addressing the issue with the relevant parties.” Johann isn’t asking for special treatment. He’s asking for what all of us deserve: a fair chance to live a healthy, stable life in the state we call home. That’s why we’re organizing. Because it’s time to stop the lies, stop the cuts, and stop the kickbacks to the ultra-rich. It’s time to build a People-First Economy —one that puts working families at the center. We believe budgets should reflect our values: justice, care, equity, and opportunity. That means fully funded public schools. Strong, accessible healthcare. Paid family and medical leave for all. Affordable housing and climate resilience . And yes—making the rich pay what they owe in taxes. Public dollars should serve the public good —not deportation machines, billionaire bank accounts, or endless corporate loopholes. The MAGA agenda in Arizona is clear: reward the rich, criminalize the poor, and keep working people divided. But we see through it. And we’re rising up. This May 5th, community members from across Arizona are showing up at the State Capitol to demand a budget that works for us. Not for Trump. Not for Ducey. Not for Elon Musk or big corporations—but for the people who keep this state running every single day. We are teachers, janitors, healthcare workers, small business owners, and immigrants. We are the people Arizona’s economy is built on. And we’re done being robbed. We want an Arizona where everyone, no matter their race, zip code, or immigration status, has the freedom to thrive. The money is there. The only question is: Will we keep letting it be stolen? Or will we rise up and demand what’s ours? The answer starts now . Read Original Article

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   April 27, 2025 Contact: press@luchaaz.org PHOENIX —  Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) strongly condemns the passage of SB 1610, a reckless bill that significantly undermines fundamental constitutional due process protections for all Arizonans. By mandating that county jails immediately share identifying information of every arrested individual with federal immigration authorities, regardless of the individual's citizenship or the nature of their alleged offense, this legislation erodes crucial legal safeguards and opens the door to wrongful detention and serious civil liberties violations.   This bill directly threatens the constitutional rights of every person in Arizona. The automatic sharing of information mandated by SB 1610 could result in individuals being a wrongfully targeted, detained, or even deported without proper judicial oversight or the chance to contest charges or accusations placed against them in a court of law regardless of whether that individual has committed any crime, has legal status, or is a U.S. citizen.   LUCHA is calling on Governor Katie Hobbs to veto SB 1610 and send a clear message that Arizona will not abandon basic constitutional protections or allow political fearmongering to override human rights. “SB 1610 is not just an attack on immigrants—it’s an attack on the due process rights of all Arizonans,” said Alejandra Gomez, Executive Director of LUCHA . “This bill moves us dangerously closer to a system where being suspected of wrongdoing based on appearance, accent, or last name is enough to end up detained, deported, or disappeared—without a fair hearing, without legal protections, and without justice.” Recent events, such as the wrongful detention of José Hermosillo, a U.S. citizen from New Mexico detained by federal agents while visiting family in Tucson, and another shocking incident, the illegal deportation of a two-year-old U.S. citizen to Honduras, highlight deeply troubling violations of due process. SB 1610 risks similar injustices at the state level by dangerously blurring the lines between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, opening the door to potential abuses and wrongful detentions of all Arizonans.  The stakes are clear: Due process protections for immigrants are already under attack. SB 1610 further erodes those protections and threatens every American’s right to fair treatment under the law. If constitutional rights can be stripped away from one group, they can be stripped away from all of us. LUCHA urges Governor Katie Hobbs to veto SB 1610 to uphold the fundamental constitutional protections that define our democracy. Due process is not a partisan issue, it is essential to the integrity of our civil rights and fairness for every Arizonan.  “When due process dies for one group, it dies for us all,” Gomez said . “Governor Hobbs must veto SB 1610 to uphold the fundamental rights that make our state—and our democracy—worth fighting for. Signing this legislation would not only codify cruelty into law—it would accelerate Arizona’s slide into authoritarianism.” ###

The request does not affect the outcome of the case, but marks the latest of the Trump administration’s withdrawal from voting rights cases. By  Jen Fifield The White House as seen from the North Lawn on March 9, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. Justice Department has withdrawn from some voting rights cases brought under the Biden administration. (Samuel Corum / Getty Images) Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Arizona’s free newsletter here. The Trump administration is asking to withdraw from a longstanding court case challenging Arizona’s voter citizenship laws. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion Tuesday to voluntarily dismiss its claims against Arizona in regards to two Republican-backed voter citizenship laws that the Biden administration had argued violated federal law. The request, in the Mi Familia Vota v. Fontes case, does not affect the pending outcome of the case, which will still continue under several plaintiffs even if the request is granted. But it is the latest example of how the Trump administration’s priorities are reshaping the Justice Department’s approach to voting rights cases to no longer challenge state laws the Biden administration saw as illegally restricting voting. It is also aligned with his recent executive order on elections , which would require documented proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. State Senate President Warren Petersen, a Republican, said the Justice Department’s withdrawal “vindicates the legality of, and the need for, Arizona’s election integrity laws.” Danielle Lang, senior director of voting rights for Campaign Legal Center, which is representing many of the groups that sued, including Living United for Change in Arizona and the League of United Latin American Citizens, said that while DOJ’s withdrawal has no practical impact, it demonstrates the new administration’s “complete abandonment of even the most basic voting rights protections.” The Arizona laws under challenge were signed by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey in 2022, and have been defended mainly by Petersen and other Republican legislative leaders. They would further limit voting in the state by voters who didn’t prove their citizenship, banning them from voting in presidential elections and by mail, along with requiring more comprehensive and frequent voter roll checks for noncitizens. A coalition of about a dozen voting rights groups sued after the laws were enacted claiming the laws were discriminatory in nature and would disenfranchise citizens. The most substantial parts of the laws have been tied up in litigation since they were enacted. The voting rights groups who sued had made the same claims as the Biden Justice Department made, the DOJ told the court in its brief, and therefore its withdrawal from the case will not affect the final judgement. Before this, the latest development in the case came in February when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s decision to block several provisions of the law, including those that would prohibit voters who don’t prove citizenship from voting for president and by mail. Petersen said Thursday that he would appeal to the decision to the full 9th Circuit. “I’m hopeful that the courts will see what the DOJ saw after a fresh look, which is that states do have the power to protect the integrity of its elections by requiring proof of citizenship to vote,” Petersen said. Jen Fifield is a reporter for Votebeat based in Arizona. Contact Jen at jfifield@votebeat.org . Read Original Article

Republicans invited Tom Homan, who has led Trump's mass deportation efforts, to address the Arizona Legislature on Tuesday. By TJ L'Heureux April 8, 2025 At noon on Tuesday, in front of a joint session of the Arizona Legislature, Trump administration “border czar” Tom Homan stepped to the rostrum to give a speech. Then, one by one, 19 Arizona Democrats walked out of the room, holding signs with the names of Arizona residents taken by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “I love it,” Homan said with a smile. “Thank you for making my day.” Homan was invited by Republicans to tout Trump’s mass deportation efforts, which he pitched as a necessary undertaking to combat an invasion of the country by hardened criminals. “Homan is leading historic efforts to restore efforts at the southern border,” said Arizona House Speaker Steve Montenegro before Homan’s speech. Senate President Warren Peterson, a Queen Creek Republican, said the Trump administration is “removing the most dangerous criminal illegal aliens from the streets.” In reality, the agencies Homan oversees have indiscriminately scooped up people without criminal records or with seemingly fabricated ones the administration uses as a pretext to send them to a prison in El Salvador. Migrants with no criminal history who are in the U.S. legally have been caught up in the Trump crackdown . The Trump administration has also garnered attention for mistakenly disappearing people , for detaining and even deporting American citizens , for stripping protections from refugees and for targeting legal residents . Not all of that has to do with Homan — some of it has been done at the behest of Secretary of State Marco Rubio — but Homan’s fingerprints are on a lot of it. Perhaps “disappearer-in-chief” would be a more apt title than “border czar,” though at a protest outside the Capitol, one Arizona Democrat had another suggestion. “Did you guys hear what that asshole said when we held up our signs of the people he has disappeared?” state Sen. Analise Ortiz said at a press conference. “These fools take pleasure in our families being torn apart and separated. It is disgusting. It is cruel. It is inhumane, and Homan is not welcome here.” Homan’s speech Other than a shoutout to former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was in attendance, Homan’s speech had little to do with Arizona. He mostly cherry-picked naming some of the most heinous crimes perpetrated by immigrants and recited misinformation, at one point claiming that border crossings had gone down 94% in a matter of months. (They are down, but only by that amount when compared to a year ago.) Homan also claimed the Trump administration had already made more arrests in a few months than the Biden administration had in four years, which is blatantly false . As Homan patted his own back with false claims, he also said he wasn’t satisfied. “I want more,” Homan said. “There’s hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens in this nation with criminal records that are walking the streets. We need to find every single one of ‘em and get ‘em out of this country.” Homan has also previously advocated for deporting some U.S.-born citizens as the Trump administration has attempted — unsuccessfully so far  — to end birthright citizenship . White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also said Tuesday that Trump is considering deporting some citizens with criminal records. “If an ICE agent can point at anyone and say, ‘You don’t belong here and you don’t get due process,’ what’s to stop them from coming after American citizens?” Ortiz asked. “They already are.” Homan’s visit to the Arizona Legislature comes as the American people are rising in greater numbers against the Trump administration’s overt abuses of power. Record-breaking protests of the Trump administration swept the nation Saturday from New York City to Alaska — Arizona included — in one of the largest single-day protests the United States has seen in years. Victoria López, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, urged opposition to the mass deportation regime. Notably, Republicans in the state legislature have pushed bills to mandate more cooperation with immigration authorities, though Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs seems unlikely to sign them should they pass. “At the state level, we must resist laws and policies that help fuel Trump’s mass deportation agenda,” López said. “Not only do they divert resources from critical needs like housing, education and health care, they also erode the constitutional rights and liberties that we hold, like free speech and due process.” Political theater Democrats’ exodus from the chamber seemed to rankle Homan, who returned to it multiple times during his 30-minute speech. “They don’t want to sit here and listen to what I gotta say,” he said at one point. “They’d much rather walk out of the room.” State Rep. Betty Villegas, a Tucson Democrat, called the decision to invite Homan to the Capitol “theater” and ripped Trump’s decisions to disobey court orders and strip deportees of due process rights. “These are not just numbers, they are people — people with families, who go to church, who run businesses, who care for our sick and elderly,” Villegas said. “(Montenegro) said, ‘We want to follow the rule of law.’ Not having due process is not following the rule of law.” Faith Ramon, an organizing manager with Living United for Change in Arizona and member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, said Homan and Trump had abandoned all pretext of due process. She mentioned Mahmoud Khalil , a legal permanent resident who was arrested in New York and sent to a detention center in Louisiana after exercising First Amendment rights and protesting the U.S. funding Israel’s war in Gaza . “The message to Black and brown people across the country is clear: Stay silent, stay invisible or be disappeared,” Ramon said. “If they’re immigrants, their legal status does not matter. Their rights don’t matter. If you dare speak against Trump, if you organize, if your skin is Black or brown, you are a target.” After the speech, Republican lawmakers and men dressed up in cowboy hats walked from the House chamber into the old Arizona Capitol building while protesters chanted, “Go home, Homan!” State Sen. Anna Abeytia didn’t mince words when attributing an ideological motivation to Republicans’ deportation zeal. “Today’s Republican Party is being led by people who are more interested in advancing their fascist, white supremacist agenda,” she said, “than following the law.” Read Original Article Here: https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/arizona-democrats-walk-out-of-trump-border-czar-speech-21536470

KJZZ | By Alisa Reznick , Wayne Schutsky Over the last two months, the Trump administration has looked to expand partnerships with local law enforcement as part of its mass deportation campaign. Right now, only a handful of agencies in Arizona have official agreements with the federal government to help with that kind of enforcement. But Republican state lawmakers are trying to change that, by creating new laws that would prompt more cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Senate President Warren Petersen’s Arizona ICE Act would ban local governments from adopting rules that prohibit cooperation with federal immigration officials. It would also require local sheriffs and state prison authorities to hold onto people already in their custody if ICE requests it. “If you have been arrested and you are in prison, they must hold you for 48 hours, so you can be turned over to ICE,” he said. Initially, Petersen also wanted to force local law enforcement to enter into 287-g agreements with the federal government, which outline specific ways sheriffs and others can participate in immigration-related activities with ICE’s permission. But, he stripped that piece of the legislation, saying sheriffs were opposed to forced cooperation. The Arizona Sheriffs Association, led by Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes, now supports the bill. “It simply prohibits local governments and officials from making policies that would restrict government officials of course, but in law enforcement’s case, the ability to keep communities safe,” he said. Petersen’s bill is just one of several pieces of GOP legislation designed to force Arizona agencies to help ICE detain, house or even deport immigrants in the country without legal authorization. There’s also a bill that would require the governor and Attorney General’s Office to cooperate with ICE, and another that would let ICE house people in a shuttered state prison. Gov. Katie Hobbs would likely veto those measures. But Petersen hasn’t ruled out sending his bill directly to voters – one year after Arizonans approved a GOP border measure that was previously vetoed by Hobbs . “Yeah, I think this is one of those things that could go that direction,” he said. Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple says his 287-g agreement has been in place since 2008. It’s activated when someone is booked into his county’s jail on a state charge. “At some point during their incarceration, one of my trained 287-g employees is going to run that individual through a federal database to find out if they have a deportation order, an ICE warrant for their arrest, or any other federal warrant for their arrest,” he said. From there, Teeple says, ICE has 72 hours to pick that person up. There are currently two 287-g officers within the Pinal County jail system and plans to increase that number. The latest available figures — from 2022 — show 41 non-citizens detained in the county were referred to federal authorities. Teeple says the program works for his county and he plans to continue it. But he doesn’t support making other counties do it, too. “As a 287-g agency, I do not like any state law that requires sheriffs to do something that’s an unfunded mandate or may not be best for their county,” he said. Teeple says that’s why he didn’t support the original version of the Arizona ICE Act, which would have forced 287-g onto local jurisdictions. Under the latest version, local and state jurisdictions are able to enter into partnerships with the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to enforce immigration laws. It also directs the state Attorney General’s Office to investigate jurisdictions that stand in the way of federal immigration enforcement efforts. Jason Houser, former ICE chief of staff under President Joe Biden, says legislation to include additional partnership opportunities is in line with the federal government’s efforts to expand its deportation campaign. “So clearly somebody realized after reading the limitations of 287-g, it’s really not that helpful, if you’re really trying to operationalize mass removal and detention,” he said. Houser says it takes time for ICE to train local 287-g officers. And there’s also no guarantee the person in custody is actually deportable. “They then are bonded out, and then an officer just spent two days doing that instead of targeting some drug cartel member,” he said. While local jurisdictions are still part of the Trump administration’s broader deportation plan, Houser says cooperation will likely include additional agencies like the U.S. Border Patrol or the Justice Department. He sees conversations limited to 287-g agreements as out of touch with the scale at which the federal government is attempting to change immigrant policy. “They are changing the paradigm of how they’re going after and inflicting these new policies, and how they want to get to 1 million removals,” he said. He says that includes things like the Alien Enemies Act, which Trump has used to deport hundreds of Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador, despite a court order, and the administration’s targeting of immigrants with the legal status to be in the U.S. A recent report from 60 Minutes found 75% of the 238 Venezuelan men sent to El Salvador in March have no criminal record. That idea — of being the target of federal scrutiny — is one Rocky Rivera knows well. He’s a Tucson-based activist with the progressive group Living United for Change in Arizona, or LUCHA. He’s a U.S. citizen who was born and raised in Bisbee, and his dad was a 23-year U.S. Army veteran. Around 2008, Rivera remembers taking his dad up to Tucson for cancer treatment and being stopped by a sheriff’s deputy, who asked if they were U.S. citizens. “All he did was ask the young sheriff if he was a citizen himself, he said, 'are you?’ And right then, the whole situation escalated, he got put in handcuffs,” he said. Rivera said they waited there until a Border Patrol agent came to the scene and recognized his father from the local credit union, where he’d long been part of the board of directors, approving large-scale loans. He believes if his dad could be the subject of profiling, anyone can. As for recent legislative efforts to revive local immigration enforcement, Rivera says he thinks history will repeat itself. “This does give them the right to race profile us. There's no way around it,” he said. “They're going to do it again.” The Arizona ICE Act has advanced through the Legislature with only Republican votes and is currently pending in the Arizona House of Representatives. Read Original Article Here: https://www.kjzz.org/fronteras-desk/2025-04-08/this-does-give-them-the-right-to-race-profile-us-az-lawmakers-push-immigration-bills-forward

Apr 4, 2025, 12:25 PM | Updated: 12:26 pm BY KEVIN STONE KTAR.com PHOENIX — A political advocacy group filed a civil rights lawsuit this week challenging Arizona’s voter-approved Secure the Border Act. Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) is seeking a permanent injunction against Proposition 314, which voters passed by 25 percentage points last November. In a complaint filed Tuesday in Maricopa County Superior Court, the nonprofit group argues that the law violates the Arizona Constitution in several ways. During a press conference Wednesday, LUCHA Executive Director Alejandra Gomez called it “a dangerous law that would fuel vigilantism [and] unjust policing that leads to racial profiling.” “Prop 314 is not just bad policy; it’s a threat to the constitutional rights of people,” she said. What is the legal argument against Secure the Border Act? Jim Barton, an attorney for LUCHA, said one of the legal issues is that the ballot measure didn’t include a funding source. “It is unconstitutional to ask the voters to pass legislation without identifying the funding source when it costs money,” he said. “Does this legislation cost money? Hell yeah, it does.” The Secure the Border Act gives state and local law enforcement officers the power to arrest people for crossing the border illegally. It also authorizes Arizona judges to issue deportation orders for anyone convicted of illegal border entry who refuses to leave the country. However, the law states that the illegal border crossing provision can only go into effect if federal courts uphold a similar Texas law that is still under judicial review. LUCHA’s lawsuit argues that the disclaimer violates the state Constitution because it takes the power to enact the measure out of the hands of Arizona lawmakers and citizens. “Because this bill unlawfully delegates to the Texas Legislature and their litigation team the enacting of this law, it is unconstitutional on those grounds,” Barton said. Prop 314 covers more than just the border crossing restrictions. It also increases penalties for the sale of fentanyl that results in a death, requires welfare programs to verify immigration status and cracks down on employment status verification. It was referred to the ballot by Republican lawmakers after Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill that covered some of the same ground in March. “It is part of a deeply coordinated assault on our rights, our dignity and our humanity, but LUCHA is not backing down,” Gomez said. “We are not here to compromise. We are not here to ask for permission to exist. We are here to lead.” This isn’t the first time LUCHA took legal action to block Prop 314. The group unsuccessfully sued to keep to it off the ballot last year but failed to convince a judge that it violated the state’s single-subject rule. Read Original Article Here: https://ktar.com/immigration/secure-the-border-act-lawsuit/5690139/

Paula Soria David Ulloa Jr La Voz Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) presentó una demanda contra el Estado de Arizona para desmantelar la Ley de Seguridad Fronteriza — aprobada por los votantes como la Propuesta 314 en noviembre- argumentando que la Legislatura engañó a votantes arizonenses al no establecer medidas de financiamiento adecuadas para su aplicación. Durante una conferencia de prensa la tarde del 2 de abril frente al Tribunal Superior de Arizona, miembros de LUCHA calificaron la ley como "inconstitucional" y anunciaron sus planes para combatir la legislación, que han criticado frecuentemente como antiinmigrante. "Estamos aquí para luchar contra la creciente ola de autoritarismo", declaró Alejandra Gómez, directora ejecutiva de LUCHA, durante la conferencia de prensa. "Ya hemos vivido esto. Recordamos el trauma de la SB 1070". LUCHA, una organización sin fines de lucro con sede en Phoenix que defiende los derechos de los inmigrantes, ha liderado la batalla contra la agenda antiinmigrante del Partido Republicano, incluso antes de que Donald Trump volviera a la Casa Blanca. A medida que el conjunto de proyectos de ley respaldados por los republicanos que finalmente se convirtieron en la Propuesta 314 avanzaba en la Legislatura de Arizona, los líderes de LUCHA, junto con otros destacados activistas por los derechos civiles y de los inmigrantes, se manifestaron en contra de su aprobación. La demanda, presentada el miércoles, exige el desmantelamiento de la Ley de Seguridad Fronteriza por tres motivos: no proporcionar una nueva fuente de ingresos para su aplicación; intentar definir causa probable —una facultad exclusiva del poder judicial- y alinear la aplicación de la ley al resultado de la similar SB 4 de Texas. Aprobada por más del 60% de votantes de Arizona durante las elecciones generales de 2024, la Propuesta 314 estabelció una serie de nuevos delitos estatales que afectan directamente a los inmigrantes que viven en y entran a Arizona, incluyendo la venta de fentanilo con resultado de muerte, el uso de información falsa al solicitar beneficios gubernamentales y, como resultado, el uso obligatorio de E-Verify. Pero el cambio que generó mayor controversia fue la criminalización de los cruces fronterizos no autorizados, que permite a los funcionarios estatales arrestar y deportar a personas sospechosas de hacerlo. Activistas y críticos han afirmado que esta medida imita la Ley 1070 del Senado de 2010, a menudo conocida como la ley "muéstrame tus papeles", lo que sugiere que la disposición puede conducir a abusos de derechos civiles y discriminación racial. En una entrevista con La Voz Arizona antes de la presentación de la demanda, Gómez afirmó que la Propuesta 314 alimenta las intenciones de la administración Trump de llevar a cabo deportaciones masivas. "En esencia, es la puerta de entrada para permitir la erosión de los derechos constitucionales de los miembros de la comunidad al debido proceso", declaró Gómez. "Devuelve a Arizona al centro de la escena, ya que desde hace tiempo la hemos considerado un campo de pruebas para proyectos de ley realmente atroces". Qué dice la demanda de LUCHA James Barton, el abogado que representa a LUCHA en la demanda, afirmó que la Propuesta 314 es "claramente inconstitucional" por tres motivos. Según lo denunciado en la demanda —documentos obtenidos por La Voz Arizona- la ley viola la Regla de Fuente de Ingresos de la Constitución de Arizona, que exige que las iniciativas y los referendos propuestos incluyan fuentes de financiamiento, algo que los patrocinadores y simpatizantes republicanos no abordaron. Citando una nota fiscal del Comité Legislativo Conjunto de Presupuesto con fecha de mayo de 2024, Barton afirmó que la aplicación de la ley no solo resultaría en un aumento del gasto en las fuerzas del orden en todo el estado, sino que también provocaría una disminución de la inmigración, lo que reduciría la recaudación de impuestos estatales y locales. Barton planteó la pregunta a los legisladores que redactaron el proyecto de ley: "¿Por qué no abordaron el costo?". El segundo punto establece que la ley viola la cláusula de separación de poderes de la Constitución de Arizona al intentar, mediante la aprobación de esta ley, que la Legislatura defina la causa probable, una facultad delegada al poder judicial. El tercer cargo, según documentos judiciales, exige la delegación de facultades legislativas a la Legislatura Estatal de Texas. Partes de la Ley de Seguridad Fronteriza dependen en gran medida de la decisión del tribunal de ratificar la SB 4 de Texas, una ley similar a la de Arizona. El Departamento de Justicia de EEUU impugnó la ley de Texas durante la administración Biden y, desde entonces, ha permanecido estancado en el Tribunal de Apelaciones del Quinto Circuito de EEUU. Barton afirmó que delegar facultades a otra legislatura estatal es inconstitucional. Proyectos de ley draconianos' Gómez afirmó que leyes como la Propuesta 314 y 13 proyectos de ley "antiinmigrantes" que se debaten en la Legislatura de Arizona están volviendo a poner a Arizona en el punto de mira por sus "proyectos de ley draconianos". Algunas de las otras leyes mencionadas por LUCHA incluyen el Proyecto de Ley Senatorial 1164, que requeriría que las agencias policiales estatales cooperen con ICE, y el Proyecto de Ley Senatorial 1111, que crearía un sistema de recompensas por el arresto y eventual deportación de inmigrantes indocumentados. Read Full Article Here: https://www.azcentral.com/story/noticias/2025/04/02/lucha-demanda-a-arizona-para-revocar-ley-antiinmigrante/82779299007/

Paula Soria David Ulloa Jr Arizona Republic Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) filed a lawsuit against the State of Arizona to dismantle the Secure the Border Act, which voters passed through Proposition 314 in November, arguing that the Legislature deceived Arizona voters when they failed to identify a funding source to enforce the law. On April 2 during a news conference outside the Superior Court of Arizona, LUCHA leadership said the law was "unconstitutional" and announced their plans to combat the legislation they have frequently criticized as being anti-immigrant. "We are here to fight back against the rising tide of authoritarianism," Alejandra Gomez, Executive Director of LUCHA said during the news conference. "We have lived through this before. We remember the trauma of SB 1070." LUCHA, a nonprofit organization based in Phoenix that advocates for immigrant rights, has been at the helm of the fight against the GOP's anti-immigrant agenda, even before Donald Trump retook the White House. In 2024, as the collection of Republican-backed bills that ultimately became Prop. 314 made its way through the Arizona Legislature, LUCHA leadership, joined by other prominent civil and immigrant rights activists, spoke out against its passing. The lawsuit, filed early April 2, calls for the dismantling of the Secure the Border Act based on three counts: failing to provide a new revenue source for its enforcement; attempting to define probable cause — a power belonging only to the judicial branch — and adhering the law's enforcement to the outcome of the similar Texas's SB 4. Passed by 63% of Arizona voters during the 2024 election, Prop. 314 created a series of new state crimes that directly impact immigrants living and entering Arizona, including the sale of fentanyl resulting in death, the use of false information when applying for government benefits and, as a result, the required use of E-Verify. But the change that sparked the most criticism was the criminalization of unauthorized border crossings, allowing state officials to arrest and deport individuals they suspect of doing so. Activists and critics have said that this move mimics the former 2010 Senate Bill 1070 law, often referred to as the "show me your papers" law, suggesting that the provision can lead to civil rights abuse and racial profiling. Martin Hernandez, an organizer with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 99 and plaintiff in the lawsuit, said during the news conference that he and his union were ready to stand with LUCHA in their fight against Prop. 314. "Let me be clear, this law will not make anyone safer. If the people in our neighborhoods are too afraid to call the police, that makes everyone less safe," Hernandez said. State Senate Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan also spoke in support of the lawsuit, saying that "when political extremists' agendas override basic human rights, it's up to all of us to push back." In an interview with La Voz / The Arizona Republic prior to the filing of the suit, Gomez said Prop. 314 fuels the intentions carried by the Trump administration to conduct massive deportations. "In essence, it is the gateway to allow the erosion of constitutional rights that community members have of due process," Gomez said. "It puts Arizona back into the center stage of the longstanding that we have had Arizona being a test ground for really egregious bills." Three-pronged lawsuit James Barton, the lawyer representing LUCHA in the lawsuit, said Prop. 314 is "plainly unconstitutional" on three counts. According to court documents obtained by The Republic, LUCHA claims the law violates the Revenue Source Rule of the Arizona Constitution, which mandates that proposed initiatives and referendums list funding sources, which GOP sponsors and backers did not address. Citing a fiscal note from the Joint Legislative Budget Committee dated May 2024, Barton said the enforcement of the law would not only result in increased spending for law enforcement across the state but also lead to a decline in immigration, which would reduce state and local tax collections. The second count states that the law violates the separation of powers clause of the Arizona Constitution when via the approval of this law, the Legislature tried to define probable cause, a power delegated to the judicial branch. The third count, per court documents, calls on the delegation of law-making powers to the Texas State Legislature via the SB 4 clause of Prop 314. Parts of the Secure the Border Act are heavily dependent on the court's determination to uphold Texas's SB 4, a law similar to Arizona's. The U.S. Justice Department challenged the Texas law during the Biden administration and has been stuck in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ever since. Barton said delegating powers to another state legislature is unconstitutional. 'Draconian bills' Gomez said legislation like Prop. 314 and 13 other "anti-immigrant" bills being debated at the Arizona Legislature are putting Arizona back into the spotlight for its "draconian bills." Bills mentioned by LUCHA include SB 1164, which would require state law enforcement agencies to cooperate with ICE , and SB 1111, which would create a bounty system for the arrest and eventual deportation of undocumented immigrants . Other bills that would help further Trump's agenda are: SB 1088, which would mandate all public entities and their independent contractors to comply with all federal laws, rules, regulations or orders that relate to immigration and deportation, with penalties for entities and contractors who don’t comply. HB 2099, which requires local government cooperation with federal immigration authorities, including compelling the governor and state attorney general to cooperate. Sundareshan said the Secure the Border Act is about "control, fear, terror and punishment," adding that it was "just the tip of the iceberg" of the MAGA agenda at the Arizona Legislature. "Prop. 314 — or any of these other bills we see in this session — are not just a single policy. They are a pattern. It is a pattern of coordinated extremist agenda to bring Trump's mass deportation plan to life and Arizona is being used as a proving ground," Sundareshan said. Read Original Article Here: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2025/04/02/lucha-sues-arizona-prop-314-immigration/82749399007/