Gov. Katie Hobbs rejects GOP-backed 'Arizona Border Invasion Act,' vetoing first 2024 bill

In her first veto of the year, Gov. Katie Hobbs killed a Republican-backed bill that would have allowed the state to police illegal border crossings.

Hobbs, a Democrat, vetoed Senate Bill 1231, the "Arizona Border Invasion Act," on Monday. In her veto letter, Hobbs cited "significant constitutional concerns" and costly and long lawsuits that could result if the bill became law.

"This bill does not secure our border, will be harmful for communities and businesses in our state, and burdensome for law enforcement personnel and the state judicial system," she wrote in the three-sentence notice.

The Senate and House passed the bill in party-line votes with only Republicans in favor last month, sending it to Hobbs' desk.

The bill sponsored by Sen. Janae Shamp, R-Surprise, makes it a state crime to enter Arizona from Mexico anywhere except a port of entry and authorizes local and state law enforcement to detain people who do so. Penalties range from a misdemeanor to felony charges if a person meets certain criteria, like having a criminal history or previous deportation.

"The Legislature did its job to protect our citizens, but Governor Hobbs failed to do hers," Shamp said in a statement Monday. "Vetoing the Arizona Border Invasion Act is a prime example of the chaos Hobbs is unleashing in our state while perpetuating this open border crisis as Biden's accomplice. Arizonans want and deserve safe communities."

Hobbs said early in the day Monday that it was "an absolute mischaracterization" to say her office "hasn't done anything on border security." She pointed to funding for local organizations at the border and law enforcement.

"These bills don't do anything to really address border security issues that we're facing," she added.

Democratic lawmakers and immigrant advocates opposed the bill for myriad reasons, including warning it would greenlight racial profiling and was clearly unconstitutional. Federal law and court rulings have left immigration policy and enforcement to the federal government, not states or local jurisdictions.

Hobbs' veto was expected after she dismissed the bill and a separate resolution sponsored by House Speaker and congressional candidate Ben Toma, R-Glendale, as "job killing, anti-immigrant legislation meant to score cheap political points.”

In her first year as governor, Hobbs tallied her first vetoes on Feb. 16, 2023, when she rejected 13 bills that together were a GOP-backed budget that left her no room to fund her own priorities.

By mid-April, she sailed through former Gov. Janet Napolitano's single-year veto record of 58 in 2005 — using a veto stamp inherited from Napolitano herself. That period of leadership had many hallmarks of today: a Democratic governor and Republican majority Legislature that were often at odds.

Hobbs ended 2023 with a record 143 vetoes.

Facing that political reality, GOP lawmakers this year have considered dozens of measures that they could send directly to voters in November, working around the veto power of the state's chief executive.

Just one other bill has made it to the governor's desk this year. That bill ensured the state's automatic election recount law didn't interfere with the calendar, in part by moving up this year's primary for non-presidential races to July 30.

Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gov. Hobbs vetoes GOP-backed 'Arizona Border Invasion Act'