April 30, 2008

Arizona Governor Vetoes §287(g) Measure Citing a $100 Million Price Tag

On Monday, April 28, 2008, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano vetoed a bill that would have required city and county police agencies to implement programs to address federal immigration violations. The §287(g) program, established by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, allows state and local law enforcement agencies to enter into agreements with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to provide local officers with training from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Subsequently, local police officers would perform immigration enforcement functions such as identification, processing, and detention of immigration offenders.

Governor Napolitano justified the veto by highlighting the $100 million in costs to the state. The governor’s office based the $100 million estimate on the presumption that Arizona would be burdened with the cost of the four-week training session for the state’s 9,000 officers. Napolitano described the §287(g) proposal as an unnecessary and unfunded mandate to state law enforcement.

GT will continue to provide updates on immigration related legislation in Arizona.