Arizona advocacy group files lawsuit challenging voter-approved Secure the Border Act

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/