So far, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s border security promises unfulfilled

Doug Ducey talked tough on border security and illegal immigration during his run for governor, calling the nation’s southern border “wide open and unprotected.”

In one TV ad, the Republican vowed to “fight back” with “fencing, satellites, guardsmen, more police and prosecutors.” As thousands of illegal immigrants from Central America streamed into the U.S. and public anger grew, he blamed the federal government for failing to protect the border, saying President Barack Obama has “dithered for far too long.”

During the heated primary campaign, Ducey signaled he intended to make border security and illegal immigration a top priority of his administration. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio — known for his incendiary rhetoric and discriminatory immigration-enforcement practices — vouched for Ducey’s “fight to secure the border.”

After seven months in office, Ducey has not fulfilled any of those promises, and has sounded a strikingly different tone on the issues as he focused on other priorities. Instead of talking tough about his “fight,” he plays up his efforts to re-establish strong relationships with officials in Washington, D.C., and Mexico following years of strain under former Gov. Jan Brewer. Without those relationships, Ducey’s promises will remain unkept, his advisers say.

In public, Ducey avoids talking in-depth or off the cuff about illegal immigration and the border.

But members of his administration say they are not ignoring his immigration promises. Ducey’s senior staffers said their efforts to improve relationships with high-level officials in Washington, D.C., and Mexico City are laying the groundwork to make good on the governor’s promises. Those relationships, they said, were almost “non-existent” under Brewer, and border security is a complex issue that won’t be solved in seven months.

At the same time, Ducey has directed Department of Public Safety Director Frank Milstead to craft a plan to assist border counties that bear the financial brunt of illegal immigration. Ducey will unveil his plan before the end of his first year in office, the senior officials said, which could provide the counties with personnel, equipment, intelligence gathering and other assistance. The plan would require DPS to work in concert with federal officials, who are responsible for securing the border.

“We’re not going to be successful in all of the things that we know we want to do – interdictions for drug cartels, supporting border counties—unless we have a good partnership with the feds,” said senior adviser J.P. Twist. “In order to accomplish all the things that we know we need to do, the real physical things that people want to see, those physical things of us actually fighting this, we have to build those relationships.”

‘He’s done nothing’

When asked about his promises or GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s comments labeling Mexican immigrants as “rapists,” for example, Ducey pivots to less controversial topics. The governor didn’t even mention illegal immigration or border security in his first State of the State address, which outlined his policy agenda for the legislative session.

Depending on the audience, Ducey appears to alter his message on the state’s controversial court case to deny driver’s licenses for certain young immigrants.

His tone avoids the harsh rhetoric of his predecessor, who cast Arizona as an extremist state with her signing of Senate Bill 1070 and claims of beheadings in the desert. With immigration and border security once again thrust to the forefront of American politics, Ducey is navigating the divide between the conservative GOP base and the more pragmatic wing, political experts say.

Asked about the change in tone on illegal immigration and border issues, Ducey spokesman Daniel Scarpinato said: “What he said in his State of the State is what he believes, which is: The campaign is over, let’s let politics stand down and let’s govern. And that’s what he’s doing. This is not about politics, it’s about achieving real results.”

But a segment of the Republican base that elected him because of his promised surge of resources at the border feels betrayed.

“He’s done nothing,” said Mary Bixler, 76, of Avondale, who voted for Ducey based on Arpaio’s endorsement.

Bixler said she’s had some “buyer’s remorse” with Ducey, who she says has had enough time in office to make significant progress on his promises. The governor has been quick to react on other high-profile issues, GOP voters said, like his proposed education funding plan.

On illegal immigration, Bixler has concluded that during the campaign, “I think he just said what we wanted to hear.”

Leading up to last year’s election, Ducey and Republicans in Congress pointed to the surge of unaccompanied minors and families from Central America crossing the border through Texas as proof the border was not secure. But even with the increase in illegal crossings by Central Americans — many of whom voluntarily turned themselves over to the U.S. Border Patrol — apprehensions overall along the southern border were at the lowest level since the early 1970s.

Former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, who was part of the six-way race for the Republican nomination for governor, joined Ducey and four other candidates at debates and forums. He recalls “a lot of pandering” by Ducey.

“You’re not going to see troops at the border, you’re not going to see the massive state efforts he promised simply because” the responsibility to secure the border lies with the federal government, he said.

“But people reacted to what they wanted to hear,” Smith said.

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‘Absolutely committed’

Ducey’s staffers point to several meetings Ducey has had with high-level federal officials about border security and illegal immigration, including Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection R. Gil Kerlikowske, as well as meetings with sheriffs and police along the border.

In those conversations with federal officials, Ducey asks them to “forget the past” — the actions of the past two governors — Brewer and Janet Napolitano, who left Arizona to join Obama’s Cabinet as Homeland Security secretary — and find ways for federal officials to cooperate with state and local entities. Both railed against Washington’s failure to secure the border, billed the federal government for the costs of jailing undocumented criminals and advocated for a National Guard presence on the U.S.-Mexican border.

“The governor ... shares the frustration that Arizonans have and he is absolutely committed to making sure that we address these issues,” Scarpinato said.

As a candidate, political experts said Ducey had to tailor his promises to reflect public opinion, a tactic used often during primary elections. As a governor, he is using a more measured approach to appeal to a wider audience than the Republican base while trying to redefine Arizona’s standing with officials in Mexico and Washington, D.C.

“He’s more about business and results than he is about flaring up issues when he doesn’t need to,” said Richard Herrera, Arizona State University associate professor of political science. “You can’t use the same type of rhetoric and the same type of approach when you’re governing as when you’re on the campaign.”

Ducey’s recent reallocation of $557,000 to two border sheriffs was a nod to a promise he made during the campaign, Herrera said. But the governor, at least publicly, appears more focused on education and economic development, “and that means dealing with Mexico.”

Ducey takes every opportunity to talk about his efforts to re-establish the state’s ties with Mexico.

For the first time since 2007, a governor led a delegation to Mexico City. Over four days in June, Ducey met with Mexico’s secretary of the economy, director of revenue and custom services and other high-level officials and CEOs who want to expand their operations or invest in Arizona.

In an op-ed to The Republic, Ducey wrote he wants to capitalize on the trade relationship, which could lead to a more secure border.

“As the Mexican people reap the benefits of free-market reforms taking place in Mexico today, and the resulting economic growth, we can expect to see a positive impact on security — specifically, border security,” Ducey wrote. “And that’s something every Arizonan can get behind.”

That’s not the kind of border security actions voters like Barbara Medal expected. She voted for him in hopes he would act quickly to close the border or send troops to the border, but now she’s not convinced he will act as aggressively as she expected.

“For so many years in Arizona, we get the ‘Close the dang fence’ business and nothing happens,” Medal said, referencing the memorable 2010 campaign ad from U.S. Sen. John McCain.

Avoiding controversy

At the same time, Ducey has tried to distance himself from the controversial court battle over driver’s licenses for certain immigrants granted federal work permits through Obama’s 2012 deferred-action program. Brewer issued an executive order banning licenses to the immigrants but the courts knocked it down and since the ban was lifted, more than 10,000 people have received licenses.

Ducey handed off his office’s legal representation on the case to Attorney General Mark Brnovich, but the Governor’s Office and the Department of Transportation, which he oversees, are still co-defendants in the lawsuit. Shortly before the governor’s trip to Mexico, Brnovich filed an appeal seeking to overturn a permanent injunction ordering the state to issue the driver’s licenses, presenting a problem for Ducey since Mexican officials were unhappy with the appeal.

Then, Ducey quietly issued a proclamation during his trip to Mexico that suggested he intended to revisit Brewer’s executive order. The proclamation became the focus of Spanish-language media reports and was wildly applauded in Mexico. But in Arizona, his administration emphasized Ducey had not changed his position on the license ban and would only review the order once a final court decision was made.

Roberto Rodriguez Hernandez, the consul general of Mexico in Phoenix who traveled to Mexico City for Ducey’s visit, recalled, “The position of the governor was that he was unable to interfere with the decision of the attorney general regarding this issue, but he was telling our people that he’s committed to comply with the law.”

Hernandez said it’s important Ducey recognize young undocumented immigrants known as “dreamers” are in the U.S. studying, working and “like it or not,” they are part of the community.

Hernandez said Mexico has high hopes for its relationship with Ducey. Under Brewer, he said, “We didn’t have any kind of contact — at all — after (SB) 1070,” other than a few encounters between her and the governor of Sonora, Mexico.

“With Governor Ducey, we just started to repair the relationship and we do have a new kind ... of approach — totally different.”

It’s more hands on, observers say. Ducey recently dined at a Scottsdale resort with the Sonora governor-elect, Claudia Pavlovich. And, under Ducey, the Arizona-Mexico Commission and the Governor’s Southern Arizona Office, are poised to be more aggressive in their attempts to lure businesses, jobs and tourism to the state, his staff says.

In his attempt to capitalize on that relationship, the governor is carefully sidestepping immigration politics.

When Trump came to town, for example, Ducey was nowhere to be found. When asked a week later about Trump’s remarks, Ducey said crimes committed by illegal immigrants are “real issues” but he wasn’t going to weigh in on comments from GOP presidential primary candidates.

He stopped short of criticizing Trump, saying, “But to paint an entire country or a nationality for the issues of individuals — violent individuals — and as the governor, I need to focus on the bad guys, arresting them, punishing them.”

Arpaio said he’s confident Ducey will make good on his immigration-enforcement promises and said the governor “has a lot of issues on his plate.”

“I know he’ll probably concentrate soon on the illegal-immigration problem,” the sheriff said, saying voters should give him time. “I’m sure he’ll do whatever’s necessary to try to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into our country.”

Reach the reporter at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4712.