Court shoots down border ballot measure lawsuit

(The Center Square) – The 'Secure the Border Act' will make it onto the November ballot for Arizonans after the Maricopa County Superior Court shot down a lawsuit from activist groups challenging its legality.

The proposition would make it a state crime to cross into Arizona through an illegal point of entry, as well as other provisions to crack down on the high levels of migrant crossings and the fentanyl crisis.

The legal argument made by the groups is that it violates the Arizona constitution by making sure propositions only tackle one topic, but an appeal is expected, according to Capitol Media Services .

"My colleagues and I worked tirelessly this session to create impactful legislation to help secure our border because the people of Arizona are desperately asking for it," Sen. Janae Shamp said in a statement.

"The federal government has neglected the safety of our citizens, and the time has come to empower Arizonans to fight back against the tyranny. I wholeheartedly believe the Secure the Border Act will save countless lives, save billions in taxpayer dollars, and strengthen our national security."

The court’s ruling states that since the provisions all relate to an overall subject matter that it does not violate the law.

“That is sufficient under Arizona law to tie all the provisions together under the subject of ‘responses to harms related to an unsecured border,’” Judge Scott Minder wrote in his opinion issued on Friday.

When the legislature was voting on whether to refer the measure to the ballot, Democrats argued it poses major risk to the state's economy and expressed concerns about racial profiling.

“Passing a job-killing, anti-business ballot initiative that demonizes our communities is not the solution to our border crisis," Hobbs said in a statement in May. "This ballot initiative won’t secure our border. Instead, it will put Arizona entrepreneurs out of business, kill jobs and prevent law enforcement from keeping our communities safe. Arizona should not pay the price for the federal government’s inaction."

There are several other ballot referrals from the state legislature on the ballot in November tackling a wide variety of issues ranging from abortion to judicial retention elections.