U.S. Briefs: Arizona votes to enforce border laws

The Grand Canyon State waded into state-level immigration enforcement on Election Day when voters resoundingly approved Proposition 314. The measure’s most controversial provision allows state and local law enforcement to arrest migrants if they cross the border unlawfully between ports of entry and allows local judges to order deportations. The measure mirrors a similar Texas law that is currently tied up in litigation: Until a federal court determines whether Texas exceeded its constitutional authority to regulate immigration, that portion of Arizona’s law will not go into effect. Critics of Arizona’s measure argue it will encourage racial profiling throughout the state, but proponents say the act targets bad actors sneaking into the country. They note law enforcement must have probable cause to arrest and detain an immigrant, such as witnessing the individual crossing the border or viewing a recording of them doing so. Prop 314 also heightens penalties for fentanyl dealing and makes it a crime for immigrants knowingly to use false documents to apply for public benefits or employment. Several other states, among them Iowa and Florida, have also recently crafted crackdowns on illegal immigration. —Addie Offereins

U.S. Census Bureau and World Atlas, Arizona Commerce Authority

West Virginia

For the third time, a federal court found the Lexington Coal Co. in contempt for failing to clean up pollution caused by its mining operations in the state. On Nov. 7, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia found that Lexington Coal repeatedly violated the Clean Water Act by dumping toxic chemicals such as selenium into Mingo County streams. After the court first ruled against the company in March 2021, Lexington filed a cleanup plan in 2022, but several environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, argued the plan was insufficient. The court agreed and held the company in contempt in 2022 and again in 2023. In the most recent ruling, District Judge Robert C. Chambers handed down a $50,000 sanction and required Lexington Coal to set aside $100,000 for remediation. —Bekah McCallum

Missouri

Authorities arrested a U.S. postal worker Nov. 6 on federal charges of bribery and conspiracy after she allegedly sold her master key to a mail thief. Prosecutors say Cambria Hopkins, a Clayton postal office worker, sold the key for $500 to co-defendant Malik Jones, who allegedly used it to steal checks out of public mailboxes in the St. Louis area in 2022 and 2023. Jones recruited people via social media to deposit the checks into their accounts, then withdrew the money, giving Hopkins and his other assistants a cut, according to officials. Federal agents said they found a Telegram channel documenting about $1 million in fraudulent and stolen check receipts (though banks rejected some attempted deposits). Hopkins could face 25 years in prison if convicted. —Elizabeth Russell

Screen grab from NBC MONTANA video

Montana

About 40 union organizers and tenants of a Bozeman apartment complex held a press conference on Nov. 1, asking for better living conditions, rent negotiations, and $5,000 for each tenant to compensate them for long-term maintenance problems. They showed photos of mold and leaking pipes and threatened to withhold rent if their demands went unheeded. Almost 30 residents formed the Bridger Heights Tenant Union with help from Bozeman Tenants United. The latter organization is pushing landlords that receive federal subsidies to implement rent control, negotiate leases, reduce evictions, and improve maintenance. Rent prices for the 50 units in Bridger Heights are already below the market rate and subsidized by the federal government. The protest was Bozeman’s second rent-related demonstration: Residents in another apartment complex unionized last year. Tenant unions are typically city- or state-level affairs, but five such unions announced in August they’d formed a national coalition to “wield power at a massive scale.” Advocates say increased evictions by investor-owned rental companies is driving a need for unions, but eviction data is hard to determine nationally. —Todd Vician

Maryland

A controversial new commission on juvenile justice reform met for the first time on Nov. 6 to begin implementing changes from a new law that took effect the same month. The state legislature passed the law in May in response to a 2023 spike in juvenile crime—including thefts, carjackings, and gun crimes. One 12-year-old boy made headlines in September for a string of more than a dozen thefts of cars and e-scooters, but he couldn’t be charged due to the previous cutoff age of 13. The new law lowers the age range for criminal charges to include 10- to 12-year-olds and requires children who commit felonies to be subject to GPS monitoring. The law also expands referrals to the justice system and time limits for probation. Retired U.S. District Court Judge Andre Davis, who chairs the new commission, told 11 News Investigates that the changes are intended to “craft a new way forward” for delinquents and their families, not to punish them. The 26-member commission will meet six times over the next year and present its first report to the governor in October 2025. —Elizabeth Russell

LaPrele Dam Courtesy photo from the Office of Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon

Wyoming

State officials on Nov. 1 ordered the urgent demolition of a 135-foot high dam on the LaPrele Reservoir west of Douglas after determining the structure is “an immediate threat to life and property.” Engineers who examined the LaPrele Dam in 2019 discovered shear cracks in the buttresses, or concrete support fins, on the downstream side and at the top of the dam spillway. At the time, they limited the amount of water that could be stored in the reservoir and called for more analysis of the dam’s structural integrity. The latest order follows the discovery of new cracking in August and October. The water level of the reservoir was low at the time of the breach order, and State Engineer Brandon Gebhart said he expects the dam, which provides water for irrigation, will safely control water flow during the winter. The state and ­irrigation district plan to remove the dam before expected spring rains in April and secure funds to replace the 115-year-old structure. —Todd Vician

U.S. Census Bureau and World Atlas