This November, Arizona voters will have the opportunity to make history by electing a governor and, for the first time, a lieutenant governor. I applaud Andy Biggs’ decision to select former state Sen. Sine Kerr as his running mate.

For those unfamiliar with Kerr, she is a Buckeye d…

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In the days following my primary loss, I had two brief conversations with the state GOP chairman. He made it clear that his top priority is unifying the Republican Party across Arizona.

I agree. We must unite.

But the question is: at what cost?

Too often, uni…

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Baker Creek Academy is one example. In the small rural town …

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Last week, State 48 News took a short break so Editor Christy Kelly could celebrate a milestone birthday and finish her first book. Look for that early next year! We’re back, refreshed, and ready to catch up on all the hot-button stories everyone’s been debating while we were away.

On Charlie Kirk’s birthday and the National Day of Remembr…

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America’s immigration debate is often framed in images and slogans: protests at courthouses, emotional clips on social media, and speeches designed to stir outrage. What gets lost in the noise is the broader reality, that undocumented migration is shaped as much by law and process as by politics and headlines.

At its core lies a difficult question: can a nation endure if its laws are treated as optional?

Critics often cast Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and Border Patrol agents as villains, as though they act on personal whim rather than under the authority of Congress and the courts. “We don’t write the laws, we enforce them,” one Arizona field officer explained recently. “Our job is to carry out what the people’s representatives have already decided.” These are not rogue actors. They are dedicated men and women who undertake dangerous assignments in defense of public safety, often at great personal sacrifice.

Television screens and social media feeds are filled with images of families weeping as agents carry out deportation orders. What the public rarely sees is the fair and thorough legal process that precedes them: hearings, appeals, and opportunities to comply voluntarily.

“People are given ample time to prepare and make arrangements,” said one immigration judge. “When removal occurs, it is only after every legal option has been exhausted.”

Deportation is not an abrupt action but the final step in due process. This process, often overlooked, is designed to ensure that justice is carried out and the law is respected. Too often, this reality is obscured by misinformation.

Contrary to widespread belief, U.S. citizens and legal immigrants in good standing are not being deported. In rare instances, mistakes occur, but they represent a tiny fraction of millions of cases and are corrected quickly. Citizen children are not subject to removal; what happens is that parents facing a deportation order often choose to take their children with them.

It’s important to remember that vigorous enforcement did not begin recently.

President Barack Obama oversaw more than three million removals—more than any president in history. In 2012 alone, nearly 410,000 people were deported. At the time, advocacy groups labeled him the “Deporter-in-Chief.” Many of the same voices now protesting enforcement said little when their preferred president was responsible for the very same policies.

Cartels profit while families pay the price.

Beyond the statistics lies a hidden facet of immigration few Americans hear about: a multi-million-dollar underground economy built on exploiting our laws. Authorities uncovered a “maternity hotel” ring in Rancho Cucamonga, California, where two individuals were convicted of running a birth tourism scheme that charged clients tens of thousands of dollars to give birth in the U.S. and obtain birthright citizenship.

Some operations are highly organized, coaching clients in visa fraud and steering them to lightly monitored border points. Others arrive independently, using tourist visas or misleading applications to hide intentions.

The financial burden falls on American taxpayers, legal immigrants, and hardworking citizens. Public schools in border states absorb tens of thousands of non-English-speaking students, stretching teachers and classrooms. Hospitals already overwhelmed by rising costs must provide uncompensated care. Cities pour millions into housing and sheltering migrants, while veterans sleep on the streets and families struggle to pay rent. The result is rising costs and strained resources for those who followed the rules.

More troubling are the darker realities of cartel-controlled migration: human trafficking, rampant sexual abuse, and the smuggling of drugs across the border. “Women are raped. Children disappear. Families are extorted,” a Texas sheriff recounted. “To ignore that is to pretend this is just about economics or compassion. It’s about organized crime.”

The thousands of dollars handed over to cartels for smuggling could instead support families for years in their home countries. In places like Colombia, where one U.S. dollar equals about 4,000 pesos, that money could cover food, rent, and basic needs for months. Instead, families gamble it on criminal networks, risking their lives and futures, and in many cases becoming indebted to cartels that then extort their loved ones.

Not every undocumented migrant is a criminal. Many come with good intentions, searching for opportunity. But gang members, cartel affiliates, and even terrorism suspects exploit the same routes. Border agents do not have the luxury of guessing who is who.

The human cost cannot be ignored either. Angel parents, families who lost loved ones to crimes committed by undocumented immigrants, are often drowned out by louder headlines.

At a press event marking the relaunch of ICE’s VOICE office, one bereaved mother spoke through tears: “My beautiful son, Matthew, was 23 and had just graduated from college and had his whole life ahead of him,” she said, recounting how an undocumented driver fatally ran him over before fleeing the scene.

Dreamers Forgotten While New Crossings Surged

Perhaps the greatest political failure lies in Washington’s refusal to provide lasting solutions for Dreamers—young people brought here as children. For years, protections were promised, yet when the chance came, lawmakers failed to act. Instead of legislating for DACA recipients already in limbo, policies were pursued that encouraged new unlawful crossings and incentivized questionable asylum claims. Dreamers and legal migrants alike were left betrayed by inaction.

Illegal immigration is expensive and unsustainable. Billions of taxpayer dollars go each year to shelters, food, schooling, healthcare, and even publicly funded legal aid for those who entered unlawfully. Compassion without limits becomes chaos — and a nation cannot prioritize everyone at once.

What America needs is not hashtags or slogans, but honesty, fairness, and the courage to enforce laws that protect citizens, legal immigrants, and even those who dream of a lawful path to opportunity. Anything less is not justice — it is chaos disguised as empathy.

Those who followed the rules should be outraged at the disregard shown by past policies. Many deportees have criminal records here or abroad, and the law is clear: unlawful presence alone is grounds for removal. Expedited removals are not abuses of power; they are the law. Responsibility lies with those who ignored it — not the officers enforcing it. To resist arrest or stage drama in front of children only deepens the trauma.

When American citizens commit crimes, they too are separated from their families, yet no national outrage follows. The principle should be the same for all: laws exist to be enforced. Without that, fairness collapses, compassion is hollow, and chaos is all that remains.

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Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Monica Yelin immigrated to the United States in 1998 with a suitcase, $300, and a J-1 visa. She went on to earn a Master’s degree in International Relations and Political Science while embracing American culture and opportunity.

Naturalized in 2005, Monica built a career in public policy and outreach, serving as Director of Strategic Initiatives for a political committee and as Public Outreach Director for the U.S. House of Representatives, specializing in Homeland Security and immigration. She previously worked in the private sector, advancing to Grassroots Chairwoman at a major insurance company.

Dedicated to service, she has volunteered with Special Olympics, United Way, and county boards, and served on Arizona’s Commission on Preventing Domestic Violence. She was appointed to a former U.S. President’s National Latino Advisory Board, is a graduate of the FBI Citizens Academy, and Toastmasters certified.

Monica is a proud Latina immigrant who embodies the American Dream — a story of perseverance, service, and success.

She is the executive director of the non-profit Hispanic Liberty Alliance.