AZ Gov. details border enforcement between the US and Mexico
NOGALES, Ariz. – Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs announced new strategies on November 18 to stop illegal drugs and border crossings during a trip to southern Arizona.
Surrounded by Customs and Border Protection agents, National Guard troops and dozens of pounds of seized fentanyl, methamphetamine and weapons, Governor Hobbs said border security programs put in place under her administration are working. However, the press conference at the Port of Nogales had an elephant in the room.
“I will not tolerate misleading policies that do not actually advance the critical work you see here today that actually keeps our communities safe,” Governor Hobbs said. “I will not tolerate terrorizing communities or threatening Arizonans.”
Hobbs implied the new Trump administration’s border policies. President-elect Donald Trump has said he will secure the US-Mexico border, promising mass deportations to confirm on Truth Social that he would do this by declaring a national emergency and using military means.
“What we’re seeing is a whole range of threats, but (we) don’t necessarily know the details of what those will look like,” Governor Hobbs said.
Gov. Hobbs addresses Arizona’s border security
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs held a press conference at the Nogales Port of Entry on November 18, where she discussed ways to better secure the border. The governor also spoke about current efforts to combat drug trafficking.
This also includes the recently adopted Proposition 314. The measure, also known as the ‘Secure the Border Act“allows local law enforcement to arrest undocumented immigrants. Gov. Hobbs has called the measure an unfunded mandate, and one with no clear implementation.
“Sheriffs’ Offices are underfunded,” said Governor Hobbs. “They already have a job, and this just adds to that.”
Governor Hobbs says she will continue to do what she says she will do: work at the state’s ports of entry – namely working with local and federal agencies, imposing harsher penalties on human traffickers and using the National Guard as a force multiplier to seize millions of pounds of illegal goods . illegal drugs while funding a variety of programs to combat the Fentanyl crisis.
“We will have conversations with the new administration about efforts that we believe will damage the truly critical relationship for both Arizona and the country,” said Governor Hobbs.
Republican Leaders, meanwhile, call Hobbs’ border visit too little, too late.
“We’ve tried everything to pass laws to enforce the federal laws that aren’t being enforced. Now they’re saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to enforce the federal laws.’ So it’s, you know, she’s irrelevant in a sense. And frankly, the bill, the proposal that we just took off the ballot, is irrelevant in a sense because President Trump, the federal government, is actually going to enforce the bill. . law,” said Arizona Senate President Warren Peterson.