All 31 members of the Arizona House Republican Majority Caucus signed a letter calling on Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes to take executive action to protect Arizona from the crisis occurring at the state’s southern border.
This follows reports from last week where officials from the Biden administration inexplicably welded open 114 massive gates along the Arizona border allowing tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to flood into the U.S.
According to U.S. officials, they opened the gates to allow water to flow freely during the annual monsoon season and to allow an endangered species of antelope to freely migrate.
The Republican lawmakers point out that executive officials in other states such as Texas and Florida have taken proactive action in court to challenge the Biden administration’s unconstitutional border policies.
“Executive officials in other states have rightly challenged the Biden Administration’s policies in court and invoked their constitutional authority to protect their citizens from this invasion. For example, 21 states are proactively litigating President Biden’s overreach of parole power, Governor Abbott has invoked Texas’s constitutional sovereign authority to defend its floating marine barriers in the Rio Grande River, and Florida Attorney General Moody obtained an injunction blocking President Biden’s unlawful mass-release immigration policy,” the letter says.
The Arizona Constitution directs executive officers to take legal action to enforce Arizona’s sovereignty, but the lawmakers say that neither Hobbs nor Mayes has taken any steps to enforce the state Constitution or President Biden’s promise to fill in gaps in the border wall near the Morelos Dam in Yuma.
“Meanwhile, Arizona, a border state, has done nothing. Yet the Arizona Constitution commands our state’s elected officials to pursue any “available legal remedy” and “exercise [the state’s] sovereign authority” to protect Arizonans’ freedoms and preserve the checks and balances of the United States Constitution. It is unconscionable to allow fentanyl and the cartel’s illegal activities to flow across our border and sit idly by as those threats demolish our state and harm our communities,” the letter says.
According to the Republican lawmakers, it’s Hobbs and Mayes’ responsibility to enforce the state Constitution in court and they urge them to make this area a top priority of their offices.
“The continued lawlessness at our border will create long-lasting and devastating impacts on the welfare of our citizens and on our state’s economy and financial stability. Because the federal government has intentionally dismantled any opportunity to continue construction of the border wall and otherwise refuses to act in a manner consistent with the Constitution, it is your responsibility to seek accountability and enforce the Constitution in court. To protect the public health, safety, and well-being of all Arizonans, we urge you to make the exercise of Arizona’s sovereign authority in this area a top priority of your office,” the letter says.
Representatives who signed the letter include David Marshall (R-Snowflake), Ben Toma (R-Peoria), Leo Biasiucci (R-Lake Havasu), Teresa Martinez (R-Maricopa), Travis Grantham (R-Gilbert), Neal Carter (R-Casa Grande), David Cook (R-Globe), Lupe Diaz (R-Benson), Tim Dunn (R-Yuma), Gail Griffin (R-Hereford), Laurin Hendrix (R-Gilbert), David Livingston (R-Peoria), Steve Montenegro (R-Goodyear), Quang Nguyen (R-Prescott), Jaqueline Parker (R-Maricopa), Kevin Payne (R-Sun City), Beverly Pingerelli (R-Peoria), Justin Wilmeth (R-Phoenix), Selina Bliss (R-Prescott), Michael Carbone (R-Buckeye), Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale), John Gillette (R-Kingman), Matt Gress (R-Scottsdale), Justin Heap (R-Mesa), Rachel Jones (R-Tucson), Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale), Cory McGarr (R-Tucson), Barbara Parker (R-Mesa), Michele Penã (R-Yuma), Austin Smith (R-Surprise), and Julie Willoughby (R-Chandler).
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star, The Star News Network, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “U.S. Border Patrol Agents Intercept a Group of Approximately 127 Migrants” by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
