Immigration enforcement faces budget cuts

Ryan Gabrielson, Tribune
January 6, 2009 - 2:12PM

State lawmakers will consider whether to continue spending tens of millions of dollars a year to arrest illegal immigrants when the legislative session begins next week with Arizona’s government in a $3 billion hole.

Immigration enforcement joins education, health care and the arts as parts of the state budget likely to receive funding cuts.

All state funding under the legislature’s purview must be considered for cuts, including immigration enforcement, said Rep. Steve Yarbrough, R-Chandler.

“We’re all gonna just die over some of these things that are going to have to be cut,â€