Arizona Dem Gov Katie Hobbs vetoes bill making illegal border crossing a state crime

Senate Bill 1231, called the "Arizona Border Invasion Act," makes it "unlawful for a person who is an alien (unlawful immigrant) to enter Arizona from a foreign nation at any location other than a lawful port of entry" in the state of Arizona. The governor has also talked about bussing illegal immigrants out of the state.

Hobbs vetoed the measure and wrote a letter in response to the law being brought to her desk and cited "constitutional concerns" for her reasoning to not pass the bill.

"Today, I vetoed Senate Bill 1231. This bill does not secure our border, will be harmful for communities and business in our state, and burdensome for law enforcement personnel and the state judicial system."

"Further, this bill presents significant constitutional concerns and would be certain to mire the State in costly and protracted litigation," Hobbs added.

A similar bill was passed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that has faced scrutiny in the courts with regard to how it squared with the Constitution. The decision from Abbott was greenlit by a federal appeals court but then the Supreme Court put a temporary hold on the measure.

The ongoing border crisis has been raging in states like Arizona where people have recounted seeing over 700 people cross the border illegally in a day. Airlines have also used the state as a point of transportation for illegal immigrants flying throughout the United States. It was recently reported that the Biden admin flew at least 320,000 illegal immigrants from different parts of the world to US cities.