Highlights
- Prop. 314, which lets state and local police arrest migrants who cross outside a port of entry, has been in effect since July 14.
- Judge Liburdi refused to block the law, saying the Florence Immigrant Rights and Refugee Project lacks standing because no arrests or deportations have been documented.
- The ACLU, representing the Florence Project, gets another chance to demonstrate harm before Liburdi rules on the constitutional questions.
- The law passed in 2024 by a 2-to-1 margin and mirrors elements of SB 1070, whose key provisions the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in 2012.
Arizona's Proposition 314, the voter-approved law giving state and local police authority to arrest migrants who cross the border outside a legal port of entry, remains in effect after U.S. District Court Judge Michael Liburdi declined Friday to block it. Liburdi said he cannot reach the constitutional questions the challengers raise until someone demonstrates they have been harmed by the measure.
"You had an administration that let the border remain wide open for four years," Liburdi said from the bench, addressing ACLU attorney Kathryn Huddleston. "Unaccompanied minors, potential terrorists, people who were not vetted flooded across the border … and you're arguing the people of the state of Arizona can't react to that because a Florence Immigration Project staff attorney might have to put an extra tank of gas in their car to visit a client?"
The Florence Immigrant Rights and Refugee Project, represented by the ACLU, filed suit seeking to block enforcement of Prop. 314, which became enforceable July 14. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes argued the organization lacked standing because it is not currently representing anyone charged under the new law, and Liburdi agreed that, to this point, there is no evidence that anyone actually has been arrested or deported.
Huddleston argued that the law illegally intrudes on federal immigration authority and that the Florence Project is harmed because its staff will spend more time navigating dual state and federal court systems on behalf of clients. Liburdi was unimpressed, saying a legal bid to overturn a lawfully enacted state law can be brought only by someone who can show imminent and irreparable harm.
Prop. 314 passed in 2024 by a 2-to-1 margin. Republican lawmakers placed it on the ballot amid reports that the Biden administration was releasing migrants who crossed illegally with a court date rather than detaining them. The measure makes illegal entry a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail, but is structured to encourage departure: a judge can dismiss charges if the accused agrees to leave the country.
The law is not Arizona's first attempt to expand state immigration enforcement. In 2010, the legislature passed SB 1070, which gave state and local authorities power to detain those suspected of being in the country illegally. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately struck down its key provisions.
Liburdi will give the Florence Project another hearing to argue that the law damages its work representing migrants and constitutes an illegal intrusion into federal immigration authority, as KJZZ and Courthouse News Service also reported. The date for that follow-up hearing has not been set.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- azcapitoltimes.com retrieved 27/07/2026 21:47
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 27/07/2026 21:47. Every claim traces to a source.
