Arizona Rep. Martha McSally, a Republican, joked Tuesday a border wall may be needed between Arizona and California due to the state’s policies offering protections for those in the U.S. illegally.
“As we look in Arizona, we often are looking into the dangers in the southern border,” McSally said during an event at the White House on sanctuary cities. “But if these dangerous policies continue out of California, we might need to build a wall between California and Arizona, as well, to keep these dangerous criminals out of our state.”
McSally’s joke prompted laughter from the room.
“But seriously, they cannot just provide sanctuary for these criminals and think that it’s only impacting California dangerously,” the Arizona Republican continued. “It impacts the rest of us because these criminals will move quickly to other jurisdictions.”
McSally noted there are members of the gang MS-13 that are arrested in Arizona but have come to the state from California, and lambasted cities and states that protect illegal immigrants for ignoring the law.
“This is clearly a federal government responsibility,” she said. “There’s a lot of things that happen around here — the federal government overreaches — but in this case, this is clearly what the federal government should be doing. And for them to be thumbing their nose at law and order, and protecting citizens, is so dangerous and a travesty.”
The Trump administration has been cracking down on jurisdictions that have implemented sanctuary policies.
Last year, the Justice Department announced cities and states would only be eligible for specific law enforcement grants from the agency if they followed specific requirements, including certifying compliance with federal immigration law.
The Justice Department is also suing California over its immigration policies, which the Trump administration believes obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration law.
The administration believes three laws passed by the state legislature should be nullified.
