Arizona Republicans want to spend $40M to reimburse local governments for border security

Republican lawmakers are backing plans to spend $40 million from state coffers to reimburse local governments for border security and immigration enforcement as Arizona continues to wait for hundreds of millions in federal reimbursements that both Republicans and Democrats are relying on to balance the state budget.

One bill, SB 1156, would allocate $20 million to reimburse cities, towns and counties for detention costs they’ve incurred to hold people in the country without legal documentation before they can be transferred to federal custody.

“And I represent a lot of little, teeny towns that have huge bills that are barely eking out their budget year to year,” said Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff), who sponsored the bill.

A separate measure, SB 1157, would provide a total of $20 million to local governments to install fencing in “high-crossing areas” along the Arizona-Mexico border to supplement the federal government’s border wall.

The funding requests come as Congress already allocated $46.5 billion over the summer as part of President Donald Trump’s spending bill to complete construction of the border wall. The New York Times reported that the federal government has already constructed around 220 miles of wall along Arizona’s 370-mile border with Mexico.

Sen. Catherine Miranda (D-Laveen) said the state budget already includes tens of millions of dollars for various border security initiatives, in addition to the increased federal spending on immigration enforcement that is happening under the Trump administration.

“Now, is this not enough? Do we really need more?” Miranda said.

But Rogers, who also sponsored SB 1157, argued the funding is needed.

“I've been to the border several times,” Rogers, whose district stretches from the area around Flagstaff all the way south to San Manuel, around 80 miles from the border. “There are discernible gaps in the border.”

Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales (D-Tucson), who is Pascua Yaqui, opposed both bills. She said further extending border barriers hurts members of the Yaqui community, which spans both sides of the border.

“We have people on both sides of the border,” she said. “And we didn't cross the border. The border crossed us.”

Bridging the gap

The bills passed out of the Arizona Senate’s Military Affairs and Border Security Committee on partisan lines on Monday, weeks after both Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and Republican legislative leaders said they are waiting on the federal government to reimburse Arizona around $760 million for costs spent on border security in the past.

Sen. Tim Dunn (R-Yuma) said Roger’s bills will help cover expenses incurred by local governments while the state waits for that reimbursement from the feds.

“We want to get the feds to pay us back, but this gives us the ability to bridge that gap and pay those local communities back,” he said.

However, the Department of Homeland Security has yet to actually tell states how it will award that money, which was also included in Trump’s tax cut and spending plan, and Arizona faces stiff competition from other states like Texas, which is seeking $11 billion of the $13.5 billion allocated for border reimbursements.

Still, both Hobbs and Republican leaders indicated they are counting on that reimbursement to pay for their priorities in the next state budget.

The bill’s critics said the state should spend taxpayer dollars on programs to help Arizonans struggling with the cost of living.

“Let me be clear, Arizona is not broke, but Arizona families are being asked to sacrifice again so the state can fund detention instead of dignity,” resident Francisco Torres told lawmakers at the committee hearing.

Next steps

Even if the bills pass out of the legislature, there is no guarantee local communities will see the $40 million Republicans want to send their way.

That’s because the funding will have to be included in the next state budget that will be negotiated by lawmakers and Hobbs, the Democratic governor.

Hobbs has voiced some support for helping local border communities deal with problems related to the border in the past. Her current budget proposal, sent to lawmakers last month, included $9 million to combat drug smuggling and human trafficking .

“While the federal government uses law enforcement resources to score political points in cities thousands of miles from the southern border, Arizona is laser-focused on securing the border, getting drugs off the streets, and cracking down on criminals poisoning our neighborhoods and our children,” Hobbs said during her State of the State speech in January.

But it is unclear whether the governor will support Rogers’ proposals.

“We will decline to comment on legislation that we have not reviewed yet,” Christian Slater, the governor’s spokesman, said.