Voters in Arizona will get to vote on a controversial law designed to protect the border in November.
HCR 2060, the "Secure the Border Act" passed the Republican controlled Arizona House of Representatives 31-29 on party lines and will be on the ballot this November. The bill allows local law enforcement agencies to arrest someone on the suspicion of crossing the border illegally. Police must have probable cause before making an arrest.
The bill had previously passed the Arizona Senate 16-13.
Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma said the bill was passed in response to President Joe Biden and Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs fighting to keep Arizona's border wide open.
"It's unsafe, it's unsecure, it's un-American, and it's indefensible," Toma said. "Nothing good comes from open borders. Only crime, deadly drugs, violence, unsafe communities, and an unending financial drain on American taxpayers."
Hobbs had vetoed similar legislation in March and has said the bill would not make Arizonans safer.
"HCR 2060 will hurt Arizona businesses, send jobs out of state, make it more difficult for law enforcement to do their jobs, and bust the state's budget," Hobbs said. "It will not secure our border."
The governor called on Congress to pass legislation securing the border.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona blasted the legislation, calling it a "dark day for many in Arizona."
"HCR 2060 would pose…risks of racial profiling, harassment, and arrest of long-time Arizona residents," said Noah Schramm, border policy strategist for the ACLU of Arizona. "It would direct enormous state resources towards immigration enforcement — an issue of clear federal responsibility — in ways that are ineffective, inhumane, and unconstitutional."