According to media reports, Arizona’s controversial bill allowing property owners to protect themselves from illegal immigrants is a license to kill innocent illegal immigrants who haplessly wander on someone’s property.
But don’t believe the hype – it’s an expansion of an existing law that allows Arizonians to protect themselves from home invasions through deadly force, if necessary, to protect themselves and family members. Under the bill, it would be legal to use lethal force against a trespasser who posed a threat to property owners.
In addition, the legislation would redirect $300 million from unused coronavirus rescue funds to establish a new fund. This fund would compensate farmers for damage resulting from illegal immigration, including livestock loss, crop loss, and damage to perimeter fences and physical structures like barns or sheds.
The left couldn’t wait to blow the proposed legislation out of proportion. According to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee’s website, Arizona Republicans are pushing forward a controversial bill that would “authorize the killing of undocumented immigrants accused of trespassing on private property.” The legislation, the website contends, will allow the use of lethal force against unarmed migrants who innocently cross ranches along the state’s border with Mexico.
In Arizona, self-defense laws grant individuals the right to protect themselves and their property. However, using lethal force against someone solely for trespassing may not be legally justified. Deadly force is permissible only when there’s a reasonable belief of potential physical harm or a serious threat to life or property.
The proposed legislation would expand the state’s Stand Your Ground laws to include trespassers outside the home who pose an imminent threat to the property owner.
If you legally own property in Arizona, you can threaten to use deadly force against criminal trespassers. You can confront a trespasser on your property and tell them to leave. But the devil is in the details – according to the existing law, you can only use deadly force in defense of yourself or others, following existing sections of Arizona state law (sections 13-405 and 13-406). The bill explicitly references this legal standard for the use of lethal force.
In other words, contrary to what the media calls “legalized murder of illegal immigrants,” the proposed legislation will not allow property owners to shoot anyone on their property randomly.
The proposed legislation clarifies that lethal force can only be used if there is a credible threat of bodily harm from the trespasser. It does not endorse the use of lethal force against mere trespassers. Despite the bill’s focus on property and personal defense, some media outlets, such as Axios, have falsely characterized it as legalizing the murder of immigrants, a term not mentioned anywhere in the bill.
Many believe the proposed legislation was in response to an incident in January 2023. George Alan Kelly, a 75-year-old Arizona rancher, is accused of shooting and killing Gabriel Cuen Buitimea as he and a group of migrants were walking through Kelly’s property. Kelly’s lawyers argue he only fired warning shots above the group and hitting Buitimea was accidental. Kelly faces charges of second-degree murder and aggravated assault.
The prosecution uncovered disturbing text messages from Kelly about shooting illegal immigrants, and an anonymous individual who claimed to have witnessed the shooting gave dramatic testimony, including a reenactment of Buitimea’s death. It later emerged that this witness had confessed to smuggling cannabis across the Arizona-Mexico border in 2015.
State Representative Justin Heap (R) strongly supports the legislation and advocates for using necessary lethal force against trespassers, especially those crossing private ranches. Heap asserts that protecting property rights and landowners’ safety is paramount, particularly amid challenges posed by illegal immigration and border security.
The proposed bill is expected to face significant opposition, particularly from Arizona’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, who will most likely veto it.
It’s clear that Arizona is joining Texas’ fight against the invasion at the border, but it’s equally clear that Hobbs is on the wrong side of the battle. In the liberal fantasy, property owners not only allow illegal immigrants to trespass on their land, but they also invite them to sing Kumbaya around a campfire. And while Republicans are trying to win a war against invasion, Democrats are tuning their guitars to join the chorus.
