Gov. Katie Hobbs has made it clear that she’s not going to be shy about taking Arizona in a very different direction than her predecessor, Doug Ducey, did for the last eight years. But, there’s one policy she’s keeping in place that surprised many when it was announced last week: Hobbs is continuing a controversial policy started under Gov. Doug Ducey to bus migrants out of Arizona border communities and to their final destinations while the immigration process plays out. In fact, she expanded it, adding plane flights for migrants who volunteer.
Hobbs painted it as a way to help border communities who are struggling with the number of migrants coming in — and it was welcomed by them. But when Ducey announced the same program, it was met with criticism from most of the left, seen as cruel, as the governors of Florida and Texas were making headlines for chartering flights for migrants and sending them to liberal places like Washington, D.C., or New York City to make a political point.
So if the program remains the same, why were they met with such different responses?
According to Arizona Republic opinion contributor Jon Gabriel, it’s all about politics. He joined Republic editorial page editor Elvia Díaz in her regular Monday slot on The Show to debate it out. He leans to the right, she leans to the left — but they both told The Show that this is good policy.
