Arizona Republicans propose legalizing the murder of migrants who cross ranches and farmland

A bill that seeks to make it legal to kill immigrants if they trespass on private property is advancing through the Arizona state House, which is controlled by the Republican Party. The controversial initiative would alter the state’s existing “Castle Doctrine” law, which lets residents use deadly force against people who are breaking into their home. The state’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, has promised to veto the law if it is approved by the state Senate.

House Bill 2843 wants to expand the rights of Arizona landowners against an uptick in migrants from Mexico. The Castle Doctrine allows the use of deadly force against anyone who invades property or has the criminal intent to do so. As it is worded now, the law requires the intruder to be both on the land and in the residence or other structure designed for habitation.

Republican lawmaker Justin Heap wants to expand the interpretation of the doctrine by modifying a few words to make the law more permissive to the use of force, which would be allowed whether the intruder is inside someone’s residence or on their land.

“If a farmer owns 10,000 acres of farmland, his home may be a half a mile away from where he is, and if he sees someone on his land, can he approach them and (remove) them from his property? This is an amendment to fix that,” Heap told the House Judiciary Committee on February 14. The representative from Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix, said the goal of his proposal was to correct a loophole in the law that has led to a “growing number of immigrants and human traffickers who are moving through ranches and farms.”

Last week, the House voted on a series of harsh measures to stop the migratory flow. Democratic legislators considered that the rules approved by the Republican majority are based on the controversial SB 1070, which criminalized undocumented immigrants in 2010 and was later revoked after several federal appeals.

“We continue to talk about the migrants who are flooding our country as if they were agricultural workers from Guatemala looking for a better life [...] when what is happening on the southern border is a humanitarian crisis,” Heaps said last week. The congressman asserted that immigrants from Senegal, Bangladesh and China are arriving in the area.

Heaps’ proposal comes a few day before an Arizona court holds a trial that will gain national attention. George Alan Kelly, a 73-year-old rancher, will be sitting in the dock on March 21 charged with second-degree murder. In January 2023, Kelly shot a group of migrants crossing his ranch on the outskirts of Nogales. Gabriel Cuen Buitimea, 48, died in the incident.

Far-right sectors consider Kelly a hero who defended American territory from an invasion. Prosecutors, however, argue that Kelly was motivated by racism. The trial was going to take place last year, but a series of motions in the courts postponed it until this spring, when it will take place in the middle of a presidential campaign where immigration from Mexico has become a priority concern for voters.

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