Sanctuary cities have become the target of the federal government under the Trump administration, which tried to deny federal funding to cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement — and they’ve been in the crosshairs of Arizona lawmakers.
In 2016, a bill failed in the Arizona Legislature that would have denied general-fund to money so-called "sanctuary cities."
Throughout all of this, Tucson has remained a so-called “immigrant-welcoming” city, a designation the city officially adopted in 2012. And now, a citizen group there has started gathering signatures for a ballot initiative that would make Tucson an official “sanctuary city.”
The Show spoke with the initiative’s organizer, Zaira Livier, about the difference.