Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, accompanied by Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher and Pima County Supervisor Rex Scott, speaks at the grand opening of the Pima County Transition Center in Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023.
The Laken Riley Act, which passed the U.S. House and awaits a hearing in the Senate, is named for a Georgia nursing school student who was killed by an undocumented man last year. Local police had previously arrested and released him for minor offenses, including shoplifting.
It requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain people in the U.S. illegally who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. But these are crimes typically dealt with by local law enforcement. How do these people get from local law enforcement to border officials is not explained in the unfunded mandate.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos says whether someone is arrested or held for an offense like shoplifting is up to the arresting officer or the courts, based on the severity of the crime or the person’s criminal history, not their immigration status.
“I do not have the staff. I do not have the resources, the funds, and, more importantly, the desire to do the job of the federal government. If I did, I guess I could run for Congress, just as my deputies have no desire to enforce immigration laws. If they did, they could have applied for Border Patrol,” Nanos said.
Congressman Juan Ciscomani, a co-sponsor on the bill, would not answer questions about how undocumented people arrested for shoplifting or related crimes would be transferred from local law enforcement to border officials or where the funding for that would come from.
As well Rep. Eli Crane, who represents a northern part of Pima County, and Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego all said they support the bipartisan bill but would not answer any further questions.
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