The Border Strike Force is a specialized unit of the Arizona Department of Public Safety that targets drug and human smuggling. New Legislative District 17 member Kevin Volk was the sole Democrat joining the 32 Republicans who voted to appropriate the money for local law enforcement to handle drug interdiction, human smuggling, illegal immigration and other border-related crimes.
“I said again and again that I would work with anyone to improve our schools, increase teacher pay, create jobs and increase funding to help secure our border. That's the promise I made to voters, and that's exactly what I will do," Volk said on the House floor on March 5.
House Bill 2606, which is on its way to the Senate, says that DPS will help municipalities with costs associated with prosecuting and detaining people charged with these crimes.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said his department will only enforce laws as they would under state and local regulations and will not alter their approach to enforce federal laws, such as crossing the border unauthorized.
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