Advocacy Alert: Oppose HCR 2060

image credit: https://lamaz.org/news-blog/oppose-hcr2060

Advocacy Alert: Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMAz.org) urges us to let our State legislators know that we oppose HCR 2060, which would essentially bring back 2010's SB1070 anti-immigration law that was declared unconstitutional. Considerations:

• The Bible is replete with guidance to welcome the stranger. The ELCA supports walking alongside immigrants as an act of faith.

• Immigration and border policies are Federal - not State - responsibilities; this bill would make illegal crossing of the border a State crime and puts local judges in the position of making deportation decisions.

• Business leaders and border law enforcement oppose this bill. "E-verification" already must be used by business employers; this bill extends e-verification to independent contractors and subcontractors, with some lack of clarity on what happens if you - as a private citizen - unknowingly hire an "unverified' worker.

• HCR 2060 also looks to remove protections for persons holding DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival) status and to require incarceration for "unverified" persons prior to their deportation, something the State prison system is not funded to do.

• Proponents hope to bypass a veto by Governor Hobbs by adding the measure to the November 2024 AZ ballot, projecting a 60% chance of success.

• The 2010 law, which came to be called the "show me your papers" law, produced significant racial profiling and distrust of police, neither of which are beneficial outcomes.

An informative article on the topic is here. There are certainly many elements of the U.S. immigration system that need remedy, but AZ HCR 2060 is not a solution for a systemic federal problem. Please use your Request To Speak access; call or write Representatives Chaplik and Kolodin and Senator Kavanagh to express your viewpoint on HCR 2060; and/or stay tuned on this issue should it make its way onto the November ballot.