Katie Hobbs’ Silence on the Texas Border Fight Is Deafening

Katie Hobbs’ Silence on the Texas Border Fight Is Deafening

by | Feb 2, 2024 | Misc, News and Updates

If all else fails, run and hide. That seems to be the motto for Katie Hobbs anytime she’s confronted with a challenge. We saw it during her 2022 gubernatorial campaign when she refused to debate Kari Lake. We saw it when she ducked reporters asking for her reasoning behind refusing to debate Kari Lake. We saw it when she hid in a restaurant bathroom after another reporter asked her why she didn’t like discussing politics. And now that she’s governor, it should come as no surprise that Hobbs has chosen the same approach when it comes to the border crisis.

During the last three years, the Biden administration has completely abandoned its constitutional duty to protect each state from invasion, and Texas had enough. The state moved to defend itself from an unprecedented flow of illegal immigration due to the federal government’s negligence. And it has so far been supported by governors from 25 states who signed a joint statement standing with Texas.

Given Arizona’s dangerous situation at our own border, you would think Governor Hobbs would sign on or at least have something to say. But once again, she has chosen to run and hide. Meanwhile, our state’s Republican-led legislature joined in support when Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma signed onto a different letter with more than two dozen state attorneys general to urge the Biden administration to enforce our nation’s immigration laws or allow Texas to do so. And Republicans have also introduced legislation to provide local, county, and state law enforcement with support to defend our border. But Hobbs would rather ignore the problem and hope it goes away.

Keep in mind that Hobbs’ silence comes at a time when the situation at our state’s border continues to grow more volatile. In just the past few months, we’ve seen:

    • A report of suspected armed “gotaways” traveling with a migrant group about 70 miles from Phoenix.
    • A report revealing thousands of “special interest aliens” from mostly Middle Eastern countries apprehended while crossing the border illegally in the past two years.
    • A dramatic rise in the number of “gotaways,” who have escaped detection from law enforcement.
    • A major fentanyl bust at Arizona’s southern border.
    • A surge of illegal immigrants in the Tucson Border Sector.
    • The apprehension of 21 sex offenders at the southern border.
    • A flood of illegal immigrants at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport during the holidays.
    • A report of 10 IEDs discovered along the Arizona/U.S.-Mexico border.
    • An increase in cartel violence near the Lukeville Port of Entry.
    • An assault against a Border Patrol agent who was arresting several illegal immigrants near San Luis, Arizona.

And then of course, there was Hobbs’ initial failure to deploy the National Guard to the border during the Lukeville crisis back in December—a decision which she had no choice but to reverse just a few days later.

The reality is that all of this reflects Hobbs’ record of open borders. She advocated to remove the shipping container barrier at our border, she vetoed bills like HB 2675, HB 2469, and SB 1408, which would have protected Arizona’s families from drugs and crime, and she pushed for $40 million in state funding to pay for illegal immigrants’ college tuition.

Now, Arizona is ground zero for the crisis at our southern border, and we cannot afford to hope it just magically disappears. It requires action. It’s time for Governor Hobbs to step up, put partisan politics aside, and ensure the security of Arizona’s southern border. Unfortunately, she’s probably hiding in a Rally’s bathroom.

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Arizona Free Enterprise Club Urges ACC to Stand Against ESG Plans

Arizona Free Enterprise Club Urges ACC to Stand Against ESG Plans

by | Feb 2, 2024 | News and Updates

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – A coalition of grassroots advocacy organizations, led by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, wrote a letter to the members of the Arizona Corporation Commission, urging them to reject the Integrated Resource Plans submitted by APS, TEP, and UNS.

The Plans were driven by political agendas to get to “Net Zero” by 2050, which is a radical and cost-prohibitive environmental goal to fundamentally transform and restrict the energy options available to consumers. States and countries that have unwisely committed to Net Zero have experienced rolling blackouts, continually request their customers to use less, and eventually make haste to reopen reliable sources of generation they had closed down.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego recently sent a letter to the Commission, praising “APS’ commitment to provide customers with 100 percent clean, carbon-free energy by 2050.” She added that “customers across all sectors, including the City of Phoenix, have set similarly ambitious goals to reach net-zero emissions to complement those of the utility.” Similarly, Governor Katie Hobbs has set the state on a path to adopt the Net Zero scheme, including when she joined the U.S. Climate Alliance last summer.

“Liberal activists and politicians in Arizona are seeking to harm our energy future, freedoms, and choices by forcing their radical and failed ESG policies on consumers,” said Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. “I encourage our Commissioners to reject these Plans to preserve energy abundance for our children and grandchildren.”

The letter argues that the proposed resource plans are irredeemably poisoned by political precommitments and would make the grid unreliable and cost ratepayers billions.

It further states, “The Commission has a constitutional obligation to ensure just and reasonable rates and a statutory duty to ensure adequate provision of service. That means ensuring reliable, affordable, and plentiful energy in the state, which should be the mission of this Commission. But these ideological environmental commitments do the opposite, and for that reason, they should be rejected.”

Representatives for Heritage Action for America, EZAZ, and Heartland Impact joined the Arizona Free Enterprise Club as co-signers of the letter to the Arizona Corporation Commission.

You can view the letter here.