Voters in Tucson, Arizona, on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected Proposition 205, the proposal to make Tucson a sanctuary city — by 71.4 percent to 29 percent.

Related: GOP Does Well in Most State Elections — and Tucson Rejects Sanctuary City Status

Close

The lopsided vote likely occurred because the measure was thought to hamstring police unreasonably in their duties — and the official designation also could have cost the city federal funds.

State funds would also have been in jeopardy under Arizona’s SB 1070 border security law.

Tucson considers itself an “immigrant-welcoming city” and already has certain limits on what police may ask or actions they may take regarding immigration status.

See this tweet with more info:

 

Prop 205 would have increased the limitations by fully outlawing the detaining or deportation of anyone without proper immigration paperwork even if the person in question was a witness to a crime.

In a rare move against measures of this type in a Democrat-controlled college town, the Tucson City Council opposed the ballot initiative.

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

Its reasoning was that Tucson already was a de facto sanctuary city and there was no need to invite lawsuits and the possible removal of state funds, which the passing of the proposition could have brought.

That did not convince Prop 205 supporters, however.

“It [Prop 205] will put into law that we will not, as we move forward, collaborate in the federal effort to terrorize, detain, separate, and deport our community members,” said Zaira Livier, an official with the People’s Defense Initiative.

City leaders disagreed.

“The city of Tucson, in all respects except being labeled as such, operates as a sanctuary city,” said outgoing Dem Mayor Jonathan Rothschild.

He opposed Prop 205, as did incoming Mayor Dem Regina Romero.

Related: Up to 80 Percent of Illegal Immigrants Freed by Sanctuary Cities Commit More Crime

The entire city council is made up exclusively of Democrats.

As the Trump administration has strongly opposed the entire sanctuary city movement, this vote can be seen as good optics for the president’s border security program.

If a largely Democrat and heavily minority-populated city like Tucson — which also sports a major state university — can decisively turn down a hard-Left-supported ballot measure on immigration, what does it say for the hard-Left national Democratic message that all conservative immigration policies in opposition to sanctuary cities are, by their nature, cruel and racist?

Local residents could do the political math.

Now it’s true the Dem spin machine has moved on from “kids in cages” — to the July 25 phone call that Trump had with the president of Ukraine.

Yet as Arizona is on the Dems’ short list to flip to blue in the upcoming national elections, certain Democratic leaders may want to take a second to ask themselves: Just how far Left is too far Left, even for reliably left-wing voters?

Share your thoughts.

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of LifeZette.