Arizona’s Legislature is creating a climate of fear for immigrant families

Arizona Republicans are pushing what immigrant advocates call the “Arizona Families Deportation Agenda,” to expedite President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan without consideration of how it will harm families.

The collection of 13 Republican-proposed bills would inhibit the everyday lives of immigrants—placing them at risk of deportation, racial profiling, and family separation.

“These bills are nothing more than Trump’s mass deportation playbook in action—turning police officers into ICE agents, putting bounties on the heads of immigrant families, and redirecting millions of taxpayer dollars away from our schools and healthcare system to fuel a racist deportation machine,” Alejandra Gomez, executive director of Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) said in a press release.

Taking a hostile tone 

The federal government is setting a precedent that has been empowering and emboldening state legislators, said Lula Haji, policy associate with the Arizona Center for Empowerment. 

Trump has taken a “shock and awe” approach to federal immigration enforcement with measures like attempting to end birthright citizenship, cancelling legal immigration pathways, expanding the reach of ICE, and militarizing the US-Mexico border.

Under Trump’s new Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, DHS is requiring migrants without legal status to register with the US government.

“Democratic lawmakers have the obligation to do better… to resist the status quo when it comes to Republicans pushing anti-immigrant [sentiment],” Haji said.

The lack of comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level is impacting states, and these Republican-backed bills are extending the state as federal immigration enforcement, Haji said. 

“We should have a dignified life for all people, regardless of immigration status,” Haji said.

There are families who aren’t sure if they will come back home after they go to work, former state Senator and Arizona Democratic Party Chair, Raquel Terán, told The Copper Courier. 

Humanity needs to be placed front and center and a comprehensive immigration reform bill needs to be negotiated, Terán added, and the millions of people in this country who have been working here deserve a pathway to citizenship.

So, what are the bills?

But, what do none of these bills aim to achieve? Expediting the legal immigration process, essentially, making it easier to become a US citizen.

“They [Republicans] are using this as a malicious opportunity to deeply harm immigrant communities,” Haji said. “[It] takes us to such a rabbit hole of dehumanization of immigrants, of widespread hate in our society.”

Dubbed the “Arizona Families Deportation Agenda” by pro-immigrant advocacy groups, these proposals are making their way through the Republican-controlled state legislature: 

House Bill 2606

• Diverts $50 million of taxpayer dollars to the Department of Public Safety for local border support.
• Passed by the House. 

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. 
• Passed by the Senate. 

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

Senate Bill 1111

• Pays law enforcement $2,500 per deportation—creating a bounty-driven deportation system, paid for by taxing all foreign wire transfers under an “illegal alien remittance fee,” forcing individuals to collectively fund state deportation. Directly incentivizes racial profiling and mass arrests.
• Introduced in the Senate

READ MORE: Arizona GOP proposes ‘sick and evil’ bounty bill targeting immigrant community

House Bill 2099

• Would require the Governor, Attorney General, and all cities, towns, and counties to comply with and carry out all federal actions regarding enforcement of federal immigration laws, stripping them of state and individual authority.
• Passed by the House. 

Senate Bill 1268

• Mandates the collection of data on emergency medical care costs and intakes on undocumented immigrants, forcing hospitals to ask about a patient’s immigration status. Could deter families from seeking life-saving medical care.
• Passed by the Senate. 

House Bill 2331

• Would allow law enforcement to request “verifiable proof of identity” from any pedestrian, cyclist, driver and car passengers. If that person fails to provide verifiable proof of identity, they would be guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor. Has the potential to escalate racial profiling across the state.
• Introduced in the House

Senate Bill 1109

• Restricts real estate ownership for select foreign nationals from any country that is considered to pose a risk to the national security of the US, targeting immigrant communities.
• Passed by the Senate. 

House Bill 2146

• Allocates $50 million of taxpayer dollars to a border office that could be weaponized for restrictive immigration policies.
• Introduced in the House

Senate Bill 1610 

• Mandates daily arrest data transfers to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
• Passed by the Senate. 

Senate Bill 1294 

• Leases Arizona’s Marana prison to the federal government for $1 per year—creating a mass deportation detention center.
• Passed by the Senate. 

Senate Bill 1299

• Diverts $2 million in taxpayer dollars to provide grants to law enforcement agencies to participate in federal immigration enforcement training.
• Passed by the Senate. 

House Bill 2855

• Declares drug cartels as terrorist organizations and gives the Arizona Department of Homeland Security full authority to do “everything within its authority” to address the potential threat. Has the potential to increase racial profiling and over-policing of communities in close proximity to the US-Mexico border.
• Passed by the House. 

Senate Bill 1088 

• Would strip Arizona of any kind of local autonomy by forcing every state and local entity to comply with federal deportation orders.
• Passed by the Senate. 

Nearly all of the proposals would divert tax dollars away from schools, healthcare, and affordable housing, placing a strain on the state budget, according to a spokesperson for LUCHA. 

Will any of these become law?

Nearly all of these proposed laws have been passed by at least one chamber of the State Legislature, and will likely make it to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ desk—but will she sign them into law?

Hobbs has said she will work with Republicans on border-related issues, and recently signed an executive order directing state and local law enforcement agencies to partner with Customs and Border Protection to prevent border crimes such as drug and human trafficking.

But, Hobbs has said she opposes legislation like Senate Bill 1111, which places bounties on migrants suspected to be in the country without proper documentation and seems to be primarily focused on border security rather than measures stirring fear among immigrant communities and furthering racial profiling.