Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs Vetoes Bill Authorizing Arizona Police to Arrest Illegal Aliens

Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) has vetoed a Republican-backed bill that would allow Arizona law enforcement to arrest illegal aliens.

This week, Hobbs made her first veto of the year when she refused to sign the “Arizona Border Invasion Act” into law, which authorizes law enforcement officers across the state to arrest illegal aliens who have crossed the United States-Mexico border.

Arizona police would be permitted to charge illegal aliens with a misdemeanor when they are first arrested and a felony if they are arrested a second time for crossing into the state.

In a letter, Hobbs claimed the bill “does not secure the border” and would be “harmful for … businesses” that hire illegal aliens to fill Arizona jobs.

State Sen. Janae Shamp (R) told AZ Central that “the legislature did its job to protect our citizens, but Governor Hobbs failed to do hers” with her veto of the bill:

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.
[Emphasis added]

From October 2023 through January 2024, more than a quarter of a million illegal aliens have been encountered at Arizona’s Tuscon border sector.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.