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Arizona’s Immigration Landscape

Overview of Arizona’s immigration landscape, including contextual factors, shared public priorities, and data that show where the state stands today.

Each topic page offers an overview of an issue Arizonans identify as a statewide priority, drawing on both public opinion and outcome data from sources such as the Gallup Arizona Survey, the Arizona Voters’ Agenda, and the Arizona Progress Meters. Additional data and trend details are available in the Searchable Data Library for deeper exploration.

Arizona’s Current Immigration Landscape

Arizona’s immigration landscape includes long-term residents, naturalized citizens, mixed-status families, international students, employment-based migrants, and newcomers arriving through humanitarian or asylum pathways. As a border state, Arizona also experiences direct benefits and drawbacks related to cross-border travel, commerce, and federal immigration operations.

While immigration policy is determined at the federal level, survey research indicates broad agreement among Arizonans that an effective and predictable immigration system — encompassing border operations, legal pathways, and processing functions — is crucial to the state’s stability, economy, and communities.

87% of voters across political affiliations support creating a functioning border for commerce and immigration.

86% of all Arizonans in 2020 support enacting comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship.

86% of Arizonans (Gallup, 2020) support creating a pathway to citizenship for DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, recipients and Dreamers.

Factors Unique to Arizona

Arizona’s immigration landscape is shaped by a combination of federal authority, longstanding immigrant communities, and its location along an international border. While border operations influence travel, trade, and local infrastructure, immigration also touches daily life across the state through workforce participation, education systems, and community networks. Federal policy decisions can affect all of these areas, from legal pathways and processing times to work authorization and humanitarian programs.

Federal Authority Over Immigration Policy

Federal Authority Over Immigration Policy

Immigration law and border enforcement are determined by the federal government, which shapes how issues such as unauthorized entry, legal pathways, processing capacity, and work authorization play out in Arizona. While state and local leaders manage many on-the-ground impacts — including effects on communities, employers, schools, and border regions — they have limited authority to set immigration rules themselves. Federal actions influence migration patterns, processing timelines, legal status options, and enforcement activity statewide.

At the same time, Arizona communities experience real pressures when federal systems are strained — including challenges tied to unauthorized entry, humanitarian surges, and uneven impacts on border and interior regions. Survey findings show that Arizonans want an immigration system that works predictably and effectively across border operations, legal processes, and humanitarian needs.

What Arizonans Prioritize

Statewide survey research shows broad agreement that immigration is an important issue for Arizona’s future and a desire for leaders to work together on long-term, practical solutions. Across political groups, Arizonans express support for improving the overall immigration system — including border operations, legal pathways, workforce needs, and humanitarian considerations — in ways that strengthen communities and the state’s economy.

System Updates and Legal Pathways

Voters broadly agree that a well-functioning immigration system is important for commerce and community stability. The vast majority also supports reforms for pathways to legal status, including for individuals with DACA/DREAMers status.

  • 87% of likely voters support creating a functioning border for commerce and immigration. 
  • 86% of Arizonans support enacting comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship. 
  • 86% of Arizonans support creating a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients and Dreamers.

See All the Most Recent Public Opinion Research:

Indicators to Drive Action

Tracking immigration-related data over time helps build a clearer picture of how policies, demographic changes, workforce needs, and border activity affect communities across Arizona. Measuring these kinds of indicators can support deeper understanding, inform decisions aligned with Arizonans’ shared priorities, and help monitor how conditions are changing over time.

Relevant indicators for this topic will be developed and added to the site in the future.

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Independent Experts

Connect with Arizona-based experts from across the state ready to share their own perspectives and insights — on the record or off.

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Informational Sessions

Join online, in-person, and hybrid events — available exclusively to verified members of the media — that provide early access to new data and opportunities to hear from experts who can explain and explore Arizona’s most complex and evolving issues.

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