NW Valley Times

Arizona State Rep. Austin Smith (R-Wittman) said that Gov. Katie Hobbs' (D-Ariz.) is "playing politics with national security" through her veto of the "Border Invasion Act."

“I am not surprised not one Democrat voted to secure the border, they are just as complicit as Joe Biden," Smith told NW Valley Times. "You can’t be in the Democrat Party today unless you believe in open, dangerous and life threatening open borders."

"Katie Hobbs has never been serious about securing the border," Smith said. "The Republican majorities have strong plans to secure the border. The governor is playing politics with national security. This lands on her and her alone.”

Sponsored by Sen. Janae Shamp (R-Surprise), the "Border Invasion Act," SB 1231, would have made it illegal for a person to enter Arizona by crossing the U.S.-Mexico border outside of an official port of entry. It also would have provided civil liability to state or local government officials who enforce the law.

Shamp said that the governor's veto "is a prime example of the chaos Hobbs is unleashing in our state while perpetuating this open border crisis as Biden's accomplice."

SB 1231 had passed both the Arizona House and Senate without a single Democrat vote. 

11,800 illegal aliens were apprehended in the U.S Border Patrol's Tucson Sector during the week ending February 23, 2024, reported the Tucson Standard. There were also 28 human smuggling events, which makes 78 such events reported during the past four weeks in the Tucson Sector.

Steve Cortes, founder and president of the League of American Workers, told the Grand Canyon Times the governor's veto "prioritizes Washington radicals and illegal aliens over US citizens and law enforcement officers in Arizona.”

This is Hobbs' first veto of the year. She vetoed 143 bills in 2023, breaking the record set by former Gov. Janet Napolitano (D), who vetoed 58 bills in 2005, reported Deseret News. 

State Rep. Austin Smith was elected to the Arizona State House of Representatives in 2022. Smith is a fifth generation Arizonian, he grew up working in agricultural jobs before joining conservative grassroots movements and Turning Point USA.