Arizona will continue to move migrants out of the state’s border communities and to other U.S. destinations, Governor Katie Hobbs said Friday.
The program has expanded from buses to the option of chartered air travel via a 737 aircraft, under a state contract signed Jan. 14.
Speaking at an extended press conference at the Capitol, the new Democratic governor said the controversial practice started by her Republican predecessor needs to be reviewed to ensure it is effective. But she indicated it had some merit.
“It’s something that gives support to those local communities,” Hobbs told reporters, referring to border communities under pressure from the influx of migrants. “If we spend money to transport people, why don’t we just take them to their final destination?”
In a follow-up statement, press secretary Josselyn Berry said the new administration is taking a different course than former governor Doug Ducey.
“We’re sending migrants to cities where they really need to go and getting connected to their sponsors, and we’re doing it in a more cost-effective way by looking at all travel options, not just buses,” Berry said.
She did not provide details on how many migrants have traveled under the new contract. The cost of the effort was not immediately clear.
Ducey’s administration sent migrants to Washington, D.C., at a cost of about $82,000 per bus trip. Ducey stressed that only migrants who volunteered for the free travel were transported by buses.
In general, immigration and border authorities release migrants who have applied for asylum at detention centers in Yuma, Tucson and Phoenix. From there, the migrants are on their own to get to their final destination in the US, where they have relatives or other sponsors, who typically pay for bus or plane tickets.
Ducey and other governors began the effort last May to pressure President Joe Biden to take more action to deal with the influx at the border. The practice was criticized by the White House as an “embarrassing” political maneuver. Arizona earmarked $15 million in its budget this year to pay for migrant transportation, and the bus program was estimated to cost $1 million a month.
Hobbs talks about water, death penalty
That Arizona continued with a bus program was just one topic covered in the governor’s 15-minute question-and-answer session with reporters.
Hobbs also spoke on issues ranging from the water crisis to border issues to prisons and the death penalty. Such open sessions were a rarity in the last years of Republican Doug Ducey’s administration.
Earlier on Friday, she signed an executive order to appoint an independent commissioner to review death penalty protocols as well as staffing issues at the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Re-entry.
Hobbs declined repeated questions to state her position on the death penalty, calling it irrelevant to the review she seeks.
On water, Hobbs said the state has a duty to address policies that allow the construction of “wild subdivisions” without a guaranteed water supply. The community in the Rio Verde Foothills in the northeast valley is currently the focus of the problem, as there is no safe water supply.
Earlier this month, Scottsdale followed up on its lengthy warning that community water would be shut off in early January.
Hobbs: Legislature acting ‘immature’
Hobbs’ press conference came at the end of a week, where her proposed budget met with a frosty reception from Republican lawmakers. She defended the $17.1 billion proposal as reflecting what voters have told her they want, adding that it is a starting point for negotiations with the GOP-controlled legislature.
“A compromise has to be made,” she said. “And I can guarantee that compromise won’t just come from the ninth floor,” she said, referring to the location of the governor’s office.
The governor also noted that she has a veto power, effectively giving her final say on legislation and the state budget. While lawmakers could override a veto, it’s unlikely, as it would require Democratic support in addition to all the Republican votes.
“It’s a pity that the legislature chose this so early to be, quite frankly, immature and unwilling to cooperate with us, as they have shown,” Hobbs said.
She reiterated her invitation that her door be open to anyone, but said that aside from GOP legislative leaders, no mainstream Republicans have sought entry.
However, she said community leaders “who haven’t necessarily had much of a reception in this building” have met with her.
Hobbs arrived at the briefing wearing an orthopedic walking boot on her left foot. Her staff said it was to treat the irritation of a plantar fasciitis that flared up when she ran the 5K event at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon the previous weekend.
Reach the reporter [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs Continues Efforts to Remove Migrants from the State
