Arizona ICE Act would force law enforcement to prioritize mass deportations over general public safety

Arizona Republicans are pushing a measure to force local and state law enforcement to carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan—banning cities, counties and state agencies from adopting policies that prohibit cooperation with immigration officials 

Senate Bill 1164, also known as the “Arizona ICE Act,” would require Arizona law enforcement agencies to enter into agreements with federal immigration authorities to enforce federal immigration laws, mandating at least 10% of officers in every law enforcement agency to do so by Jan. 1, 2026. Statewide, that would result in over 1,000 officers to shift their focus from immediate community needs to investigating immigrants.

The bill, sponsored by Republican Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, is one of a collection of proposals aimed at expediting mass deportations in line with Trump’s agenda, and would legalize what immigration advocates are calling a “coordinated attack” on Arizona’s immigrant families.

READ MORE: Mexican border states prepare migrant shelters as Trump begins deportation campaign

The measure will cost taxpayers money: County sheriff’s offices and the State Department of Corrections need an “unspecified amount” from the state general fund to administer the legislation. Sheriffs have previously said at least $100 million would be needed to fund such an effort, and the Arizona Center for Economic Progress estimates that detaining immigrants could cost anywhere from $224 million to $447 million.

In Petersen’s view, the bill will support what Arizonans voted for: Proposition 314, which gave state law enforcement the authority to arrest anyone they suspect has entered the country outside authorized ports of entry, and received overwhelming support from voters in November’s election. However, Prop 314 didn’t have any funding mechanism in place, and Petersen has previously said it didn’t need funding—or to even be enforced at all.

Petersen’s bill would also stop state, city, town, and county employees from taking any action to limit the involvement of local police officers with immigration officials. 

Noah Schramm, border policy strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, and one of the few allowed to speak during the bill’s committee hearing, said that the bill could lead to investigations prompted by citizens who believe their local police departments should be doing more to enforce federal immigration laws. 

Silencing opposition

Activists who marched to protest the Arizona ICE Act were denied entry to the Arizona Capitol where the bill was being heard in the Senate Military Affairs and Border Security Committee on Feb. 17—drawing similarities to 2010, when protestors received similar treatment. 

During the hearing, Sen. Catherine Miranda, D-Phoenix, said the proposal would have a chilling effect on communities who might be less likely to call the police for help out of fear that they may be detained under SB 1164.

“There will be reduced reporting of violent crimes by vulnerable communities because they won’t act as witnesses out of fear of deportation,” said Miranda.

READ MORE: Arizona schools brace for the worst as Trump’s immigration raids begin

In addition to sowing mistrust of police, the measure would divert resources away from public safety concerns. It would also bring legal consequences from the state attorney general to police departments or correctional facilities that don’t meet their orders, and any Arizonan could provoke such an investigation.

Petersen’s bill would also pave the way for the arrest of immigrants who have legal authorization, but aren’t citizens, such as asylum seekers who must reside in the country as permanent residents for six or more years before they are eligible for citizenship, said Douglas Kouffie, a lawyer representing an Iraq war veteran who was arrested in a similar situation. 

Marlon Parris, a veteran and legal permanent resident who has resided in the US for more than 30 years, was arrested at his home on Jan. 22, and he is currently detained by ICE, even though he has all of the proper documentation.

Paving the way for racial profiling 

For Arizona’s immigrant community, and its advocates, this collection of bills is all too reminiscent of SB 1070—the “show me your papers law” in 2010, which led to widespread racial profiling and fear at the hand of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his immigration sweeps.

“Never in my life have I ever heard my parents tell me they’re scared to go outside, and this is the first time in my life I’ve ever heard that from my parents. With SB 1070, I was a baby, I didn’t realize the fear,” said Neida Romero, an ASU student who was protesting with the Arizona Students Association.  

Petersen said immigrants should just come to the US legally, and the bill has nothing to do with racial profiling, and is instead focused on people committing crimes—but in the confines of his proposal, that crime is existing in the US without legal status. 

“Law enforcement has no way of executing these types of laws without racial profiling,” Arizona Democratic Party Chair and former state Sen. Raquel Terán told The Copper Courier.

Refusing to fix a broken immigration system

Romero’s mother has lived in the US for 30 years, and every year she submits her citizenship application, but still hasn’t made much progress with the complicated system. 

Romero sees the pathway to citizenship as unfair—in her mixed status family, some have been able to gain citizenship through marriage, birthright citizenship, or DACA—and yet, for her mother, who has worked and paid taxes in the US for decades, has no legal status. 

“My mom gave birth to my sisters [who have birthright citizenship], and she doesn’t have anything. She doesn’t have a green card, she doesn’t have anything, yet she gave birth to these citizens,” Romero told The Copper Courier.

Too many resources have been put into detaining and policing the immigrant community, and not towards expediting the immigration process, said Sen. Eva Burch, D-Mesa, in the bill’s hearing.

Petersen said he has always supported legal immigration, but has never sponsored, co-sponsored, or supported legislation to expedite or improve immigration processes. 

“We’d like our elected officials to spend time and effort helping us embrace the benefits of these good people who are members of our community and not terrorize them,” said Tyler Montague, a policy advisor with the American Business Immigration Coalition. 

While comprehensive immigration reform needs to be negotiated, the humanity of the issue is what needs to be front and center, Terán told The Copper Courier. “We have millions of people who have been working here in our country, who are many times part of mixed status families, who deserve a pathway to citizenship.”

State Sen. Analise Ortiz and state Rep. Mariana Sandoval introduced mirror bills in the House and Senate, Senate Bill 1362 and House Bill 2807. Named the Immigrant Trust Act, they propose to do the exact opposite of Petersen’s bill. 

It would prohibit law enforcement from asking people for their immigration status and stop them from enforcing federal immigration laws with the intent of preventing people without immigration status from living in fear throughout their everyday lives. 

But, it’s likely that the two bills will be left out to dry and won’t even be heard in a committee.