Democratic Reaction to Governor Ducey’s Grandstanding at the Border last Friday

As has been reported by various news sources like AZ Central and this blog, Governor Doug Ducey engaged in some political theater and grandstanding by visiting, with Florida Senator Rick Scott (who may have been on a recruitment drive to convince Mr. Ducey to change his mind and run for the Arizona Senate seat currently held by Mark Kelly,) the Grand Canyon State border with Mexico.

During the performance, the Arizona Governor, despite being contradicted by the press at the event, spread the same inaccurate Republican talking points (lies) about the surge from Mexican and Central American residents in attempting to illegally cross the southern border.

He erroneously blamed Biden for encouraging the surge of illegal immigration across the border.

How many times can President Joe Biden, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki say the border is closed and do not come to the United States?

Before Mr. Ducey’s visit to the border, the Governor’s office even mischaracterized three-drug bust arrests as border apprehensions when they occurred in Tucson, Phoenix, and near the Grand Canyon.

He did not even have the decency or sound political judgment to invite Arizona’s two Democratic Senators (Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly) to accompany him.

Democratic reaction to the Governors’ political grandstanding has been consistent in its criticism of Mr. Ducey’s approach.

Alex Alvarez, the spokesperson of the Arizona Democratic Party, commented that:

“Doug Ducey’s visit to the border was a political stunt. He ignored his complicity in Trump’s inhumane immigration policy that separated families. Shame on Ducey for using our borderlands as a political stage for congressional Republicans like Rick Scott, who are distracting Americans from the fact that they voted against the American Rescue Plan, which sent $1,400 direct payments workers.”

“Ducey folded to Trumpism and he is trying to rewrite the history of his failure to stand up for Arizonans when we needed him most.”

Bonnie Heidler, the Chairperson of the Pima County Democratic Party, wrote:

“As we all know, solutions to immigration in this country have always been difficult to address. Having lived in border states most of my life, there has never been a good solution. However, the last administration did more harm than solve the problem. They created more problems and added cruelty as the way to deal with this problem. Ducey saying that the border issue was “largely solved” is just a lie. What was created was a worse situation…separating families. And, the biggest problem of the family separation is that there was NO plan as to how to bring families back together again. Today, there are still hundreds of children who have not been reunited with their parents because no one can find their parents. Cruelty is not the way to solve our immigration problem.”

“The House has passed two bills that would help some of the situation, as a start. However, Republicans in the Senate most likely will not pass either bill. Republicans enjoy eating vegetables that have been picked by migrant farmworkers, who are mostly immigrants. And, those vegetables are affordable because immigrants are willing to do the hard work that white Republicans won’t do, for EXTREMELY low wages and horrible living conditions. Republicans need to be reminded of the valuable work immigrants provide to this country. And, this country should thank them by passing laws that protect their rights as human beings and provide a path to citizenship.”

Matt Grodsky, the Vice President of Matters of State Strategies, relayed:

“Like an A-list Hollywood action star, Ducey does his own stunts. Ducey’s visit was just more immigration antics that were meant to further politicize the issue. Throw in a helicopter ride and some photo ops and it’s mission accomplished. This is just Republican politics 101 and Arizonans can see through it.” 

Reporters should be continually asking Governor Ducey the following questions like some of them did at the Friday event:

• Would you turn the unaccompanied children at the border away? If so, where would you send them?
• President Biden and his team have consistently told migrants not to come to the border. What part of that message would you make clearer?
• If you are so worried about a surge of illegal border entries, why are you not dispatching any state security forces you have the power to authorize to the border?
• Why did you not officially invite any elected Democrats to the Friday event? What does Rick Scott have to do with the border in Arizona?

It is time for Ducey to stop holding political grandstanding events and lying about reality at the border in a vain attempt to resuscitate support for any likely futile attempts to run for higher office and start to govern for all the people of Arizona.