ACLU, Florence Project File Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutional State Deportation Scheme in Arizona’s Proposition 314

PHOENIX — The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU of Arizona filed a federal lawsuit last night on behalf of the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project (FIRRP) challenging Section 5 of Proposition (Prop.) 314, a previously deferred provision that would unconstitutionally usurp federal immigration enforcement power by making it a state crime for some immigrants to enter or remain in Arizona.

Courts across the country have repeatedly reaffirmed that immigration enforcement is a power that belongs exclusively to the federal government — not the states.

Section 5 had been on hold due to litigation against similar laws in other states, but it is now poised to take effect. The groups are asking the court to immediately block the provision, citing a violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which clearly establishes that immigration is a federal responsibility.

“Section 5 of Proposition 314 is a permission slip for local and state law enforcement to engage in blatantly unconstitutional acts like racial profiling, unlawful arrests, and illegal detentions,” said Tara DeGeorge, legal director at the ACLU of Arizona. “It will upend Arizona courts, tax an already overextended state prison system, and result in mass due process violations. Arizona’s communities should not have to pay the price for this unconstitutional experiment.”

The groups seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent the harm that Section 5 would cause immigrant, Latino, and communities of color across the state.

“Section 5 of Proposition 314 creates an entirely separate and parallel detention and deportation system," said Roxana Avila-Cimpeanu, deputy director at the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project. "If it goes into effect, countless members of our communities, including vulnerable youth and individuals with mental health concerns, could end up jailed throughout Arizona on state immigration charges, intentionally isolated from expert legal support and potentially deported without ever having a fair day in court.”

“Regulation of immigration into the United States is an exclusively federal power that cannot be usurped by Arizona or any other state. The Supreme Court reaffirmed this basic principle in response to an unconstitutional Arizona law fourteen years ago,” said Kate Huddleston, senior staff attorney at the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project. “Proposition 314’s Section 5 is likewise unlawful and inhumane, so we’re suing to block it.”

Prop. 314 was passed by the Arizona Legislature in 2024 and approved by voters later that year, but Section 5 remained dormant while a similar anti-immigrant law in Texas, Senate Bill 4 (S.B. 4), was blocked in court. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a lower court’s injunction against S.B. 4 solely on procedural grounds on May 15. Section 5 of Prop. 314 goes into effect after a comparable state law has been in effect for 60 days. Without court intervention, local and state law enforcement agencies may move to enforce Section 5 as early as July 14.

While at the Legislature, Prop. 314 (then House Concurrent Resolution 2060) faced scrutiny from stakeholders across the political spectrum. At the time, the ACLU of Arizona repeatedly raised concerns about the bill’s unconstitutionality, and immigrants’ rights advocacy groups pointed to parallels between the resolution and Arizona’s notorious anti-immigrant law, S.B. 1070, portions of which were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. To take effect now, amidst the Trump administration’s rampant and extreme immigration enforcement tactics, Section 5 would put Arizona’s criminal justice system at the center of cruel, inhumane, and in many cases unlawful actions against Arizona’s immigrant communities.