By Jim Small | Arizona Mirror
In his state of the state speech less than six weeks ago, Gov. Doug Ducey said one of his priorities for 2020 was a constitutional amendment banning sanctuary cities in Arizona. Now, amid opposition from civil rights groups and the business community, the governor says the legislation he helped author to do just that is dead.
“The governor stands firmly with the people of Arizona in opposition to sanctuary cities — a California-style policy overwhelmingly rejected by voters in Tucson last fall,” said Patrick Ptak, a spokesman for Ducey. He added that the governor “will continue to oppose any effort to create sanctuary cities.”
Andrew Wilder, a spokesman for the Republican majority caucus in the House of Representatives, said in a statement that the decision to kill the proposed constitutional amendment was “made jointly” by Ducey and Republican legislative leaders.
“Sanctuary cities are illegal in Arizona. It will remain that way, and our members will remain vigilant to keep these bad policies out of Arizona,” he added.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down most of SB1070’s provisions, but left in place a part of the law that was designed to ban sanctuary cities. There is no definition of sanctuary cities in federal or state law, but it generally refers to places that limit cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, though that can mean many things.
There are no sanctuary cities in Arizona.
