Arizona Senate Majority Caucus Warns of Government Shutdown If Gov. Katie Hobbs Vetoes the Newley Passed Budget

The Arizona State House and Senate have officially passed a “skinny budget” to continue funding state agencies. The ball now falls in Gov. Katie Hobbs’s (D) court to sign or veto the budget, and the Senate Majority Caucus said it expects Hobbs to “do the right thing.”

“We [the caucus] believe it would be quite foolish for Governor Hobbs to veto this budget. We are proceeding under the assumption that she will do the right thing. If she does veto this budget, then she will be responsible for a government shutdown,” Caucus spokeswoman Kim Quintero told The Arizona Sun Times via email.

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Arizona State Representative Introduces Legislation to Prohibit TikTok from Devices Used by the State

State Representative Matt Gress (R-Phoenix) is introducing an amendment at the Wednesday House Governance Committee meeting dubbed the “No TikTok on Arizona Government Devices Act.”

“When I was sworn into office, I took an oath to defend my constituents and all Arizonans from enemies both foreign and domestic,” said Gress. “This legislation fulfills this promise as the security risks associated with the use of TikTok – an application owned and operated by the Chinese Communist Party with the capabilities of gathering crucial details about personal, private internet activity – can’t be ignored.”

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Mayor of Yuma Explains Why Migrant Encounters Are Up 2,405 Percent, Offers Solutions

Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls is speaking up about the recent surge of migrants in the Yuma sector on Arizona’s border with Mexico, explaining why it’s occurring and recommending solutions. He believes there are several factors contributing to the 2,405% increase in migrant apprehensions, and says there are both long-term and short-term ways to resolve the problem.

“The ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy of the Trump administration was ordered put back in place by the courts, but that has not fully happened,” he told The Arizona Sun Times. “In 2019 and 2020, there were 50 to 60 migrants a day being returned under the policy. Now, there are only about 10 a day. With 1,000 coming across the border daily now, that’s only 1%.”

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Yuma Rep. Tim Dunn: Arizona’s Spike in Illegal Border-Crossers is Thanks to Biden’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy Applying Only to Texas

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey sent the Arizona National Guard and law enforcement officers to the Arizona border with Mexico near Yuma to address a surge in border crossings, which Arizona Rep. Tim Dunn (R-Yuma) has called for and believes will help combat the drug cartels, but not the number of migrants crossing due to the Biden administration’s policies. 

Dunn told The Arizona Sun Times that although only the federal government is allowed by law to deal with the migrants, Arizona troops and law enforcement officers can perform other tasks for the Border Patrol, freeing them up to handle the influx of migrants. He said the migrants “do want to be checked in to the Border Patrol. The last leg of their trip is to get a free ride to another part of the country — the Border Patrol is performing an Uber function.”

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