Phoenix, AZ - Ahead of the Senate vote on HCR2060, Governor Katie Hobbs and Democratic members of the Latino caucus issued a joint statement denouncing HCR2060:

“Over the past week, bipartisan organizations ranging from the Arizona Chamber of Commerce to border county law enforcement officials to immigrant rights groups have spoken up in opposition to the Republican-backed ballot referral that will kill jobs, drive away businesses, and demonize our communities of color. Yet again we join together to make it clear: this referral will not secure our border, and it will not make Arizonans safe.

“What it will do is prevent law enforcement from fighting violent crimes like robbery and sexual assault, cost state and local governments hundreds of millions of dollars to try and enforce this unconstitutional measure, leave a black eye on our state’s reputation, and lead to a onslaught of racial profiling. This will separate families and inflict emotional and economic damage on households and communities, especially children. And now Dreamers, who followed the process and gained a legal status, are also under fire as the measure plans for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to come to an end.

“We agree more needs to be done to secure the border. Earlier this year, Congress could have passed a border deal that supported law enforcement and helped manage the large influx of migrants, but it was stopped so extremists can leverage the issue for partisan attacks. Businesses, law enforcement, and Arizonans are paying the price for federal inaction and partisan politics. Now, radicals in the state legislature continue to play the same political games in our state. We have worked tirelessly to ensure a safe, secure and humane environment at the border to fix the crisis on our hands, but this extremist referral is not the answer.”