Among the 13 ballot measures Arizona voters will be deciding this general election, Proposition 314 stands as one of the more potent ones, potentially impacting the approximately 273,000 immigrants living in Arizona without permanent legal status, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
Proposition 314 criminalizes certain actions at the state level for immigrants lacking permanent legal status, raising concerns among ASU students about racial profiling, economic impacts and the potential for family separations. Student groups, along with organizations like Aliento and the League of Women Voters of Arizona, are advocating for immigrant rights and urging peers to vote against the measure.
These actions would include applying for public benefits with false documents, providing false work authorization information to employers, entering Arizona illegally outside official ports of entry and remaining in the U.S. after a criminal conviction and court-ordered deportation.
It would also criminalize selling fentanyl that results in the death of an individual. State courts would also be able to issue deportation orders enforced by state and local law enforcement, shifting immigration control to state authorities.
READ MORE: What's on the ballot: A guide to Arizona's propositions for the November election
Proponents argue that the measure is a crucial step toward enhancing security in the country. Opponents, like Kat Jutras, a member of the League of Women Voters of Arizona, said the proposition's focus on fentanyl-related crimes and its political rhetoric could link immigration to drug trafficking, while the two issues are not directly connected.
“You throw in something like fentanyl, which a lot of people have been directly impacted by, and it's resulting in a significant amount of loss of life, just adds a cherry on top of this fear around this bill,” she said.
Maria Garcia is a graduate student studying public policy and is an intern for Aliento, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving families without legal status in Arizona. She said that, if the proposition is passed, "fear will be instilled" especially if their families are at risk of being separated.
She said that this bill particularly had a "gray area," as it is unclear whether state police could order for people to be deported if they were, for example, pulled over and had no driver’s license or passport to show.
Maria Flores, a junior studying criminology and criminal justice, as well as justice studies, and the president of CAMPOS, a club that brings awareness to farmworker and labor rights issues, said that "this proposition is not going to deter individuals from coming into the United States undocumented."
"Rather, it's just going to make individuals feel more unsafe," she said.
Further concerns revolve around the strain the proposition could place on the correctional system. Jutras said enforcing harsher penalties under Proposition 314 would disproportionately affect immigrants lacking permanent legal status in Arizona, creating what she describes as a "pipeline" from the Department of Corrections to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Jutras also emphasizes that industries dependent on the labor of immigrants could face significant disruptions, deepening the proposition's ripple effects throughout the state.
"I think that without immigrants here in the United States, our economy wouldn't do great," Flores said. "We wouldn't have food on our table, and we wouldn't have individuals to do the jobs that citizens themselves won't."
Flores created CAMPOS to stay informed about migrant farm laborers and to work with the community to help them. The organization was formed in 2023, and they have been able to host donation drives, hold informational events and work with similar clubs in other states to spotlight these workers' issues.
“What we try to focus more on is making sure that our farm-working community knows it’s valued and that there are students out there who are rooting for them and that we’re really thankful for their work,” Flores said.
Flores said that it is hard for immigrants and the organizations that serve them to be involved in policymaking, as most of them cannot vote.
"Whatever changes are made, we do want to make sure that we’re keeping our community informed and that we’re able to be the voice that they can’t have,” she said.
No More Deaths at ASU is another student club that works with immigrants crossing the border in Arizona without permanent legal status. They provide water gallons and other life-saving supplies to people traveling through the Sonoran Desert.
In a written statement, the club said that Proposition 314 only makes them "more steadfast in our resolve to provide the much-needed humanitarian aid that our organization undertakes."
Garcia said that Aliento’s mission is to help immigrant families transition to life in the United States. They do this by educating people and supporting them through laws that could impact them, such as Proposition 308, or on potential changes in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. They often end up working closely with migrant students and Dreamers at ASU.
If Proposition 314 is passed, Garcia said Aliento might be able to offer mental health or legal resources for impacted immigrant families, although they couldn't help enough from a governmental perspective.
Garcia said students could also help by registering to vote and being present for those without legal and permanent residency in Arizona.
“They can register — they can volunteer to register others to vote. They can spread the word about this prop in Arizona," Garcia said. "And you can do something about it by being there for them and understanding.”
Edited by George Headley, Sophia Braccio, Tiya Talwar and Natalia Jarrett.
Reach the reporters at pkfung@asu.edu and emuslim@asu.edu and follow @FungPippa and @emra_m1 on X.
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Pippa is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication with minors in political science and German. This is her second semester with The State Press. She has also worked at Blaze Radio and the Los Alamos National Lab.
Emra is a junior studying political science with a minor in Spanish. This is her first semester with The State Press. She has also worked at the League of Women Voters of Arizona, USG-WV, Honors College Council at Barrett and the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict.
