It’s no surprise that Proposition 314 seems to be a daily point of discussion for many Tucsonans this campaign season, given Pima Count’s proximity to the border.

Prop. 314 would make it a state crime for non-citizens to enter the state outside of official ports of entry and gives state and local law enforcement the ability to arrest people they suspect of illegal entry.

It’s been a focal point during local candidate forums and debates, and candidates jockeying for federal office have also been eager to weigh in.

“Arizonans are crying out for common sense security measures,” Republican candidate for Arizona’s U.S. Senate seat Kari Lake told NBC News after it was announced that Prop. 314, also called the“Secure the Border Act,”  would make the ballot.

Lake’s Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, took the opposite stance, telling NBC that Prop. 314 is the latest example of politicians refusing to address the border crisis and “dragging us backwards to a horrible time.”

Gallego said that instead of stepping up local enforcement, the solution lies in delivering resources to frontline border communities and fixing the country’s broken asylum system.

“This bill does none of that,” he told NBC News.

Last Friday, dozens of Tucsonans took to the streets to march against Prop. 314 and to ask politicians to implement the types of interventions that Gallego and Vice President Kamala Harris have suggested.

The march kicked off at Josefina Ahumada Worker Center, drawing attendees like Howard Druan, a Green Party candidate running for Pima County Attorney. 

“I heard about this protest against Prop 314 and every single one of those referendums that’s on the ballot are just bad. They’re horrendous,” Druan said. “They work against democracy.” 

He said Prop.314 discriminates against people on the basis of their status and encourages racial profiling by local law enforcement.

“(It allows) Tucson police and sheriff to just arrest anyone for the immigration violation,” he said. “That’s a long established matter of federal law.”

Isabel Garcia, co-chair of the Coalición de Derechos Humanos and one of the march’s organizers, said her group is working hard to spread the word about the dangers of Prop. 314 to young people on social media.

They’ve been sending notices to the Pima County Board of Supervisors and Tucson City Council meetings to keep the community informed about the proposition. 

“Immigrants and the border are the number one issue for anybody and everything,” Garcia said. “This bill could really undermine all of our civil rights in the state of Arizona.” 

The event commenced with a blessing by Jesus “Chucho” Ruiz Vai Savoi, Coordinator of Healthy Manhood Initiatives at A Call to Men, a national organization that promotes healthy, respectful manhood through education and training.

 “We are the elements, we are the sun, we are the sky, we are the Earth, when we look into each other’s eyes, we are each other — you are me and I am you,” Chucho sang. “This song is a reminder of who we come from and who we are in relation to everything else,” 

Attendees formed a circle during the song, while organizers moved around, blessing each person with incense and a feather, the smoke enveloping the group as the ceremony continued.

After the blessing, Garcia hyped up the crowd, before introducing Ward 1 Council member Lane Santa Cruz and Supervisor Adelita Grijalva.

“What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” Carolina Silva chanted during the march, her voice rising above the crowd.

Silva works as executive director of ScholarshipsA-Z, an immigrant youth-led group that works to make higher education accessible to all students, regardless of immigration status.

“I think this is a really dangerous and toxic proposition that would bring Arizona back to the days of SB 1070, which were dark times,” Silva said. “It’s really important that people come out in opposition of it, because it’ll make discrimination legal, and that’s not okay.” 

The march continued up Congress Street and concluded at El Presidio Plaza, where Mayor Regina Romero greeted the crowd. 

“They continue putting these initiatives … on the ballot to divide us because they know that we have strength in numbers,” she said. “If we were going to be talking about the truth and the facts, people in this country would acknowledge the value of immigrants, documented or not.”

Romero is correct in that the Republican rhetoric surrounding Prop. 314 has failed to mention that value. Instead, it relies heavily on references to border crossers who are the “worst of the worst” and have criminal records, are on terrorist watch lists or are smuggling drugs and humans.

During a September debate, Republican state Sen. John Kavanagh pointed to those examples, saying they’re the type of people who the bill is aimed at. 

“It’s not true that people seeking asylum in this country are the worst of the worst,” Democratic state Rep. Analise Ortiz fired back. “Prop. 314 will make our communities less safe because it will divert our limited local police officers to duplicate the job of the Border Patrol. We could see churches and businesses raided. We could see children detained in cages.”

During the march in Tucson, ScholarshipsA-Z’s Silva pointed to other potential repercussions, as she recounted life under SB 1070.

“We saw migrants leave the state and we saw the economy go down,” she said. “ There’s nothing good about this proposition.”

Isabela Gamez is a University of Arizona alum and reporter with Tucson Spotlight. Contact her at gamezi@arizona.edu.