Arizonans could be asked to vote on 'one of the toughest immigration laws ever written'

Tapping into frustrations over the current border crisis, Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma and other GOP lawmakers announced a plan to expand and repurpose a federal employment verification program.

"Our border is being overrun by illegal aliens," Toma said at a news conference Monday with eight other House Republicans. "It's painfully clear at this point that our governor and our president are doing nothing about it."

The legislation he's sponsoring, House Concurrent Resolution 2060, would be "one of the toughest immigration laws ever written," he said.

Toma, a Romanian immigrant who's running for Congress, and his colleagues hope to send the measure to voters on November's ballot. It would require state, county and municipal governments to use the federal E-Verify system to check the immigration status of anyone who applies for a license of any kind, and it adds a requirement for employers to use the system when hiring independent contractors and subcontractors.

A 2006 state law already requires employers in general to use E-Verify when making hires. A person who helps someone else obstruct the E-Verify process would face a state felony charge.

The measure enables investigations of E-Verify use "and creates large financial penalties for employers who violate the law," he said.

Border crisis: AZ Republicans explain their opposition to bipartisan deal?

E-Verify, an online system that checks out a person's citizenship or immigration status, began as a federal pilot program in 1997. Despite the 2006 state law, the think-tank group Cato Institute published an article in 2020 showing only about two-thirds of Arizona employers used E-Verify as required over the years.

A 2011 law already requires that government officials must ask for documentation of citizenship or work permits for licenses such as food handler certificates.

Republicans have made illegal immigration a political issue for decades, but new data from Pew Research shows 80% of Americans, including voters from both parties, believe the federal government is doing a "bad job" with immigration.

The resolution adds to the growing number of potential 2024 ballot referrals by Republicans since Democrat Katie Hobbs took office last year. The legislation needs only to win a simple majority of lawmakers to go on the ballot, which is possible on party lines because of Republicans' one-vote majority in both legislative chambers. Hobbs' signature isn't required.

Immigration advocates spun the plan as dangerous and cruel, arguing it would lead to boycotts similar to those after former Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1070 in 2010, a law that sought to empower police with immigration enforcement powers. Much of the law was challenged successfully in court, but Arizona police still have the power to ask people they stop for their immigration status if they have reason to believe they're in the country unlawfully.

"The reality is that undocumented individuals have been living here for the majority, on average, for more than 10 years. They have to make a living," said Reyna Montoya, CEO and founder of Aliento, an immigration rights group.

After the news conference, the resolution sparked passionate testimony during a hearing about it in the House Appropriations Committee.

"This creates a perverse incentive for people who cannot work to engage in potential illegal and dangerous behavior in order to make ends meet," said Democratic Rep. Oscar De Los Santos, D-Laveen. "It flies in the face of a welcoming, safe and loving society."

He blasted Republicans for their anti-immigrant tone, garnering a retribution from the committee's chair, Republican Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria.

Toma and other Republicans declared the resolution was necessary to encourage undocumented people not to settle in Arizona and argued it would save the state money. Toma pointed to numbers from the conservative Federation for American Immigration Reform that showed the state spends about $2.3 billion a year on benefits for undocumented residents.

The resolution cleared the committee on a 10-7 vote and will be scheduled for a vote by the full House before moving on to the state Senate.

Toma said he didn't have a breakdown of the estimated costs, nor was he certain the E-Verify system could be used for state licenses instead of hirings. He insisted it was crucial for the state to try to curb the benefits, including hiring.

A FAIR website, referring to a disputed study the group conducted in 2017, states that Arizona spends $2.4 billion on undocumented people, with over 54% of that devoted to K-12 costs. However, the law requires the state public school system to accept children without verifying their status. Other costs in the FAIR analysis may be impossible to get rid of, as well, like costs for immigration enforcement and emergency medical services.

Soon after the press conference, Toma sent out a fundraising email touting the resolution. Toma, who lives in Glendale, is running in a competitive Republican primary race for the state's 8th Congressional district.

"I need your help to get to Congress so we have leaders in Washington who will finally act to secure our borders and deport these invaders," the email said. "Will you rush your support to my campaign for Congress?"

At an event with reporters on Tuesday, Gov. Hobbs took a jab at Toma's plan while acknowledging problems at the border.

"I think what he's proposing has more to do with his run for Congress than actually solving the problem," Hobbs said. "But I understand legislators' frustration, in line with Arizona's frustration, about Washington's failure to act."

Reach the reporter at rstern@arizonarepublic.com or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern.

Reporter Stacey Barchenger contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sweeping expansion of E-Verify in AZ may be headed to November ballot