Tucson City Council Votes Against Arizona Sanctuary City Ban

TUCSON, AZ — Tucson City Council members voted on Wednesday to oppose Arizona legislation which would permanently ban so-called sanctuary cities in the state, according to media reports. Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said “there is zero need” for the Senate and House resolutions, according to an Arizona Daily Star report.

If passed, the state legislation would prohibit state, county, municipal and other local governments from limiting or restricting the enforcement of federal immigration laws "less than the full extent permitted by federal law."

“This ballot referral is 100% politically motivated to bring out a voting bloc that the governing majority at the State Capitol believes they need to be successful in 2020,” the Arizona Daily Star reported the mayor as saying.

While Arizona already has a ban on sanctuary cities, the Republican-led state legislature's resolutions would enshrine the ban in the state's constitution, KGUN9 reported.

Related:

• Tucson Voters Reject Sanctuary City, Elect First Latina Mayor
• Sanctuary Cities Amendment Would Make Police Do Immigration Enforcement: Experts

See the text of Senate Concurrent Resolution 1007 and House Concurrent Resolution 2036.

The vote follows the City Council and mayor's opposition in November of Proposition 205, known as "Keeping Tucson Families Free and Together," which would have restricted when police can inquire about immigration status and cooperate with federal law enforcement in immigration raids and other activities. In the city-wide vote, that measure failed by a 71 percent margin.

The City Council and previous mayor, Jonathan Rothschild, all Democrats, opposed Proposition 205 because they were concerned about unintended consequences and the potential for losing millions of dollars in state and federal funding. They said Tucson police have already adopted rules that go as far as legally possible to restrict officers from enforcing federal immigration laws.

Council Member Steve Kozachik of Ward Six sent Patch the following statement:

The State Legislature and Governor are simply amping up the already divisive nature of the immigration issue with Bills like these. It’s what I’ve come to expect from them, especially as we enter another election season. What we do with our local law enforcement efforts as it relates to immigration is a matter of local concern. I didn’t support Prop 205 because it was bad policy in the manner in which it was written. But the debate over that was a local one. The State just needs to stay out of our local stuff.