Border state GOP pushes to defy White House, adopt TX-style immigration law

Conservatives in the Arizona legislature want to put a Texas-style anti-illegal immigration law on the ballot in November, after the state’s Democratic governor vetoed the bill earlier this year.

The Republican-controlled legislature in the border state approved a measure in February that would make illegal immigration a state crime and allow police to arrest those on suspicion of being in the state illegally. It would also have made it a felony for illegal migrants who cross the border after being deported, as well as those who have been ordered to leave the state but refused to comply.

It is similar to a Texas law passed in December, but that has been on hold since January due to a lawsuit from the federal government. It’s one of a number of such bills from states who say the federal government is not doing enough to tackle the ongoing crisis at the southern border.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

Migrants flee through a gap in the border wall in Lukeville, Arizona, on Jan 4. (Fox News/Bryan Allman)

But it was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in March.

“This bill does not secure our border. On the contrary, it will be harmful for businesses and communities in our state and a burden for law enforcement personnel,” said Hobbs.

“I know there’s frustration about the federal government’s failure to secure our border, but this bill is not the solution.”

Now, conservatives who are part of the state’s Freedom Caucus are pushing a measure that would add it to the ballot in November.

“We know Katie Hobbs won’t sign [the bill], but the Arizona Constitution gives us as a legislature the right to refer a law like that to the ballot. And that is what I’d like to see from the Arizona legislature,” state Rep. Alex Kolodin told Fox News Digital in an interview.

ANOTHER RED STATE MOVES A STEP CLOSER TO ENACTING TEXAS-STYLE ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BILL

Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed a Republican-sponsored bill that would have authorized police to arrest illegal immigrants, saying the legislation was anti-immigrant and likely to be unconstitutional. (YouTube)

Kolodin is calling on leadership to convene a special hearing because it is past the deadline and it needs waiving by a vote of the majority of the chamber.  He believes there is support in the legislature, but it’s just about making it actually happen.

“I would say in the House, all of the Republicans are supportive in principle. The issue, though, is that so far that support has not translated into concrete action and that’s what needs to happen because the people of Arizona are expecting that,” he said.

Kolodin also said that if it was added to the ballot, he believes it would pass.

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott in December signed SB 4, a state law criminalizing unlawful entry into the country. The bill is currently tied up in federal courts, but is inspiring efforts in Arizona and other states to pass similar measures into law. (Getty Images)

“I’m very confident that Arizonans would pass it. Immigration is by far the best polling issue for Republicans. This is an issue on which a large majority of Arizonans are on our side,” he said.

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The push by Arizona represents the latest push by red states to take matters related to immigration into their own hands. A Louisiana legislator recently introduced a Texas-style law, while a similar measure is heading to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk.

Other measures are moving forward in Tennessee, Oklahoma and Georgia. Kolodin said the move is in response to inaction from the feds. He gave a similar justification for his push for the ballot measure.

“The federal government is utterly failing in their duty to protect us from this invasion. And so we have to take matters into our own hands, or the very lives and safety of our constituents are at risk,” he said.

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.