Immigrants are not 'invading' Arizona. Politicians just want you to think they are

Extremist Arizona politicians are at it again.

The statehouse is awash in anti-immigrant bills that demonize and dehumanize immigrants and asylum-seekers, and put communities of color and their advocates in peril.

We have seen this self-serving, xenophobic playbook before, and we know that it is dangerous and costly for our state.

Arizona gained international infamy in 2010 when then-Gov. Jan Brewer signed the anti-immigrant Senate Bill 1070 into law.

Using the language of “attrition through enforcement,” the law targeted immigrants and communities of color more broadly, subjecting them to a raft of inhumane and unconstitutional provisions designed to create fear and uncertainty — and ultimately, “attrition” from the state we all call home.

Did Arizona learn nothing from SB 1070?

After a mountain of costly legal challenges brought by the ACLU of Arizona and others, the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately found the majority of SB 1070 unconstitutional, but not before the law had devastating impacts on our state.

Families were torn apart, jobs and businesses were lost, communities of color were vilified, and the state economy was battered by boycotts. The public backlash on Arizona’s national and international reputation put a stain on our state that we are still trying to rinse off.

This is why the national discourse about the U.S.-Mexico border and border security is so alarming.

Calls to further criminalize immigration and militarize the border give cover to cynical state politicians seeking to capitalize on challenges at the border to advance anti-immigrant laws. 

Legislation is on shaky legal ground

In Arizona, lawmakers have proposed bills — including Senate Bill 1231, which Gov. Katie Hobbs has already vetoed, plus House Bills 2821 and 2748 — authorizing state judges to enforce federal immigration laws and creating a new class of state crimes.

Perhaps most dangerously, they provide immunity to law enforcement when acting under these bills.

HB 2478 would potentially allow legal protections to police departments already plagued with problems and federal investigations for unconstitutional policing practices if they target immigrants in Arizona.

This type of legislation was vetoed by Governor Hobbs, but lawmakers unhappy with not getting their way are now threatening to place these bills directly on the ballot.

Many of these pieces of legislation are built on shaky legal ground and would surely invite lawsuits that challenge their constitutionality.

Not to mention that Arizona voters rejected extremism on the ballot in 2022, and they can reject it again in 2024.

We're not being 'invaded' by immigrants

Still, it is clear that lawmakers will stop at nothing to advance their extreme political agenda.

These proposals are rationalized by a cruel and dishonest narrative: that Arizona is being “invaded” by immigrants and that extreme action by the state is necessary.

If there is a crisis at the border, they reason, then Arizona is entitled to defend itself against these invading armies.

But immigrants are not invaders. They are our families, neighbors and an integral part of our communities. 

The conflation of people migrating to our border with the criminalization of immigration is toxic to our state and national discourse.

This demonization is doing real harm

This is the same politics of demonization and lawlessness that Arizona has seen before, and that Texas is now battling the Biden administration over.

Morally, these proposed bills are repugnant. Rhetorically and symbolically, they contribute to the vilification of immigrants and advance an anti-immigrant agenda that seeks to deprive communities of color of their rights and dignity. 

Even if these bills fail to become law, damage is being done.

Border Patrol keeps growing:Yet immigration remains broken

People who contribute to our communities in numerous, often hidden ways, are further marginalized and reminded of how tenuous and fragile their lives here are.

Our hope is that Arizona’s leadership will remember the damage caused to our state and our immigrant neighbors the last time and prevent history from repeating itself by rejecting these attempts to dehumanize immigrants.

Stop the false narrative about the border

Racist false rhetoric about an “invasion” must not be allowed to give cover to grandstanding politicians seeking to advance an anti-immigrant narrative that has nothing to do with humanitarian needs at the border or the safety of our communities.

These bills are not real solutions.

If lawmakers really want to “protect” Arizona, they should block these bills that put our immigrant community in harm’s way and damage the reputation of our state.

Arizona is not being invaded — but it is being poisoned by anti-immigrant extremism.

We’re hopeful our lawmakers will protect all Arizonans and the state by stopping these bills from moving any further.  

Victoria López is director of program and strategy at the ACLU of Arizona. Reach her at vlopez@acluaz.org; on X, formerly Twitter: @vlotree.