Donald Trump travels to Arizona border ahead of his Glendale stop
Donald Trump visits Cochise County and the Arizona-Mexico border on Aug. 22, 2024, ahead of his Glendale stop at Desert Diamond Arena.
Owen Ziliak/The Republic
The border hawks are back in power to carry out Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, and Arizona’s calvary is ready.
That isn’t by chance.
The Arizona calvary never stopped working to elect Trump and put the mechanisms in place to round up, detain and deport undocumented migrants.
This is a hair-on-fire moment for those of us who still consider America’s immigrant roots an economic and cultural asset worth protecting.
Trump will spend deeply to deport others
The victors are itching to shut down the U.S.-Mexico border to asylum seekers, conduct workplace raids and militarize neighborhoods to root out migrants.
As that plays out and some of you cheer the migrant hunting — criminals or not — keep an eye on who directly benefits and how.
“There’s no price tag,” the president-elect said of the cost of the mass deportation campaign promise that he plans to keep.
That means your tax dollars — an unlimited amount — will be spent on it. And that will make a lot of people rich or powerful, or both.
Topping the list in Arizona is Republican state Rep. Steve Montenegro of Goodyear. Yes, the same one who was just elected speaker of the House.
Arizona House leader has close ties to Homan
Montenegro holds one of the most powerful posts at the Legislature. And he has close ties to the White House.
Montenegro has a direct line to Tom Homan, Trump’s incoming “border czar,” according to the Arizona Center for Investigating Reporting and other media outlets.
Homan worked as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump and aggressively promoted the “border invasion” of “illegal immigrants.”
The effort, which worked brilliantly to make voters believe there was an actual invasion at the southern border, also was promoted nationwide by a group who call themselves the Border911.
The America Project, which funded election conspiracy efforts, is part of the group’s web, according to the same AZCIR story.
And guess who was The America Project’s national political director? Yep. Montenegro.
Montenegro could benefit from deportation
In early 2023, Montenegro appeared in Phoenix alongside Homan to push the “Border911” legislative agenda, the Arizona Mirror reports.
That agenda included declaring the cartels foreign terrorist organizations and using the National Guard to help with border enforcement.
The Republican-controlled Legislature also referred Proposition 314 to the ballot, which voters approved handily on Nov. 5.
It’s not clear how much Montenegro was paid for this work because Arizona doesn’t require that kind of disclosure, the Center for Investigative Reporting indicated.
What’s clear, though, is that Montenegro stands to benefit directly from immigration crackdowns — if not financially, then by amassing power at the Legislature and with the new border czar.
Who else will benefit from Proposition 314? Private prisons, private entities and individuals willing to help for the right price, that is.
New immigration law sets the tools do to it
Proposition 314, which is on hold until a similar law out of Texas clears legal hurdles, includes the tools necessary to carry out a mass deportation.
It makes border crossing a state crime, gives judges the power to issue deportation orders, imposes harsh penalties on fentanyl sales that result in death, and requires verification of immigration status when seeking employment and to access welfare programs.
That means Arizona would need an army of workers to carry out that mandate, including state law enforcement officers to go after the bad guys, arrest migrants and put them behind bars.
What would happen when existing jails run out of space? You guessed it. Private prisons will ride to the rescue with “no price tag.”
Don’t believe me? Just spend some time listening to Homan and Stephen Miller, Trump’s incoming deputy chief of staff and the architect of Trump’s hardline immigration policies.
You’ll pay dearly for Trump’s painful policy
All that may sound good to those who want undocumented migrants — all of them — gone at any price.
Just know that the suffering that undoubtedly will be inflicted on families and children has a huge human and financial toll.
Small businesses will be shattered, and worker shortages could help drive up prices to all sorts of groceries that you think already cost too much.
The mass deportation may not happen overnight, but know that while you swallowed the soundbites carefully crafted to rile up your emotions during the election, somebody was getting rich and powerful at your expense.
And just know that those same people and many others are about to get a lot more powerful and a lot richer — at your expense.
Don’t care and want it done at any price? Then buckle up, because you — not Trump or any of his folks — will pay for it.
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 : 2024-11-12 23:15:00
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