SALC’s STATEMENT ON HCR2060

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 20, 2024

Contact: Paula Toomey
ptoomey@salc.org

Southern Arizona Leadership Council (SALC) is issuing this press release in response to HCR2060.  The Southern Arizona Leadership Council (SALC) is composed of 160 members who are executive business and community leaders. SALC focuses on advancing effective public policy that improves economic vibrancy and quality of life in the region and state. The organization is nonpartisan and uses a business lens to evaluate proposed policy. Employing that lens, SALC strongly opposes HCR2060 and urges Arizona lawmakers to reject the concurrent resolution which would be unhelpful at best and economically devastating at worst.

SALC’s statement on HCR2060

SALC’s primary reasons for opposing HCR2060 are:

• Immigration and border security enforcement is the responsibility of the federal government. Federal decisions and inaction have led to the border crisis in Arizona. It is a federal responsibility that requires a federal response. We urge our federal delegation and their colleagues in congress to take action to address the current situation and immediately begin work on comprehensive immigration reform. SALC believes HCR2060 is NOT the solution.
  
• HCR2060 would be financially onerous to cities and counties. It creates an unfunded mandate for Arizona’s law enforcement officials and our court system to detain, confine and, ultimately, deport unlawful immigrants without the resources and infrastructure necessary to do so. This, during a time of a $1+ billion state budget deficit in Arizona.
  
• HCR2060 puts Arizona back in a negative national and international spotlight, reminiscent of SB1070 in 2010, which was estimated to have cost Arizona’s businesses hundreds of millions of dollars, including an estimated $141 million in lost meeting and convention revenue alone, and deprived the general fund of at least $9 million in taxes.
  
• Arizonans have worked hard to rebuild the state’s reputation. Negative publicity regarding passage of this proposal could jeopardize Arizona’s future economic development prospects, foreign direct investments ($32 billion in 2022), and tourism.  We fear these adverse impacts could be arising already from the mere existence of HCR 2060 and discussion surrounding it. We prefer to see it defeated as quickly as possible.
  
• Finally, this proposal will face legal challenges, prolonging the time in the media, costs to the state, and further tarnishing the reputation of Arizona.

SALC acknowledges that the resolution attempts to address other issues of concern, such as the sale of lethal fentanyl, that merit consideration separate from the immigration provisions of HCR2060.  However, the potential for confusion associated with combining those subjects into a single proposed ballot referral is another reason for opposing the resolution.

SALC calls upon Arizona voters to join us in contacting our state legislators to urge them to oppose HCR2060. We further appeal to our congressional delegates and their colleagues to put aside partisan politics and ratify meaningful immigration reform for Arizona and the Nation.

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