Curtailing illegal immigration and enforcing border security is one thing, but rewarding arrests with cash spells trouble for everyone.
US military will fly migrants to Guantanamo Bay for first time
U.S. officials say the first military aircraft carrying detained migrants to Guantanamo Bay is expected to depart on Tuesday.
Arizona lawmakers are proposing legislation that would financially reward law enforcement for the arrest and deportation of undocumented immigrants.Another proposed bill would force local police officers to help with Trump’s immigration crackdown.It’s cruel to put a target on men, women and children whose only crime is a civil offense in their pursuit of safety.
Corrections and Clarifications: An earlier version of this column included a bill from last year’s legislative session.
Arizona is leading the pack in the hunt for migrants, now pushing to put a “bounty” on their heads.
Hunting for migrants has long been a favorite sport of Arizona’s border vigilante groups and the elected leaders who passed restrictive anti-immigrant laws in the early and mid-2000s.
The difference now is that Donald Trump has declared a nationwide war on migrants, ordering to deport all those here illegally by any means necessary.
Arizona MAGA lawmakers are now eagerly working to tame Trump’s fury over the slow pace of deportation, and what they’re proposing is vigilantism on steroids.
‘Bounty’ takes Arizona back to lawless days
Republican Sen. Jake Hoffman is proposing a “bounty bill” to pay local law enforcement for each undocumented immigrant arrested and deported.
This is no joke. The chairman of the Arizona Freedom Caucus wants to put a $2,500 bounty on migrants’ heads, just like in the olden days of the lawless frontier.
It’s unclear how Hoffman came up with that amount, but his Senate Bill 1111 would impose a fee on migrants’ international wire transfers. Taxpayers could, if they want, also claim the fees paid as tax credit.
That’s how Hoffman is selling his head-hunting pitch to MAGA Arizonans, who are itching to use migrants as human targets.
Another bill, SB 1164, that is now making its way through the MAGA-controlled Legislature would force local police officers to help with Trump’s immigration crackdown.
This comes after some cities like Phoenix have said no city resources will go toward helping Trump’s mass deportation.
Gov. Hobbs can stop this hunt for migrants
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs is the only one who could stop these vigilantism bills.
I’m heartened that a Hobbs spokesperson told The Arizona Republic that “there’s no way in Hell” she’ll sign the bounty bill, in part because it puts a “bounty on the heads of innocent people who have worked hard, paid taxes and lived in their communities for decades.”
But what about other anti-immigrant bills? Hobbs has said she’d work with Trump on border security, but she hasn’t clearly articulated what that means.
Migrant bounty hunting is gaining steam everywhere from Mississippi to Missouri, exploiting Trump’s immigration war to promote vigilante tactics.
And, yes, it is vigilantism, even if authorities are doing the hunting. Because there is a “bounty,” an actual financial incentive, to hunt people.
Mobilizing hunters to go after migrants who are already terrified of being deported will only push them further underground.
MAGA’s vigilantism spells trouble for everyone
Curtailing illegal immigration and enforcing border security is one thing, but encouraging vigilantes in a “law and order” country spells trouble for everyone.
It’s cruel to put a target on men, women and children whose only crime is a civil offense in their pursuit of safety.
It’s up to the U.S. to take migrants or not, but it should be done strategically, orderly and humanely.
None of that orderly migration has happened under any federal administration because migrants are useful tools to stoke public fear for personal, political and financial gains.
Now, it’s MAGA’s turn. And they’re blatantly turning America into a vigilante state. The “bounty” is now on migrants, but it won’t stop there if we let them.
Elvia Díaz is editorial page editor for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Reach her at 602-444-8606 or [email protected]. Follow her on X, (formerly Twitter), @elviadiaz1.
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Publish date : 2025-02-20 07:34:00
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