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

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. 

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

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.

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

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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.