Immigration enforcement bill clears early hurdle

by Jacques Billeaud

A proposal that would draw local police officers deeper into the fight against illegal immigration cleared its first hurdle Tuesday at the Arizona Legislature.
The bill would criminalize the presence of illegal immigrants in the state by expanding Arizona’s trespassing law to let local authorities arrest those who sneak into the country. It also would prohibit cities from restricting the flow of information on a person’s immigration status and allow people to sue local officials who limit their police officers’ ability to fully enforce federal immigration law.

“The only impediment to enforcing our laws (and) protecting our citizens is the political decisions by local politicians who refuse to protect their citizens,” said Republican Rep. Russell Pearce of Mesa, who proposed the bill.
The Senate appropriations committee approved the bill on an 8-3 vote.

Although immigration has long been considered the sole responsibility of the federal government, Pearce and other advocates for tougher border enforcement have said for several years that local authorities could help lessen border woes in Arizona, the busiest illegal entry point into the United States.

Many local police bosses in Arizona have resisted that push, saying it would detract from their traditional roles in investigating thefts, assaults and other crimes and would jeopardize the trust they have built in immigrant communities.

Under the trespassing proposal, a first offense would be a top-tier misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. Subsequent violations would be a felony that would carry a penalty of up to 2 1/2years in prison.

The trespassing bill is similar to proposals vetoed in 2006 by then-Gov. Janet Napolitano. At the time, the Democratic governor said she opposed automatically turning all immigrants who sneaked into the state into criminals.

The bill also aims to prevent cities from discouraging their police officers from inquiring about people’s immigration status in cases where the government is determining their eligibility for public benefits or confirming the identity of people who are arrested.

The proposal would let a person file a lawsuit to challenge officials who adopt policies that limit full enforcement of federal immigration law. If a judge decides a city or town is in violation, the court would be required to order the municipality to pay a civil penalty up to $5,000 for each day the policy remains in effect.

Jennifer Allen, director of the Border Action Network, an immigrant rights group based in southern Arizona, said she opposes the bill because it would lead to racial profiling and take away the discretion that local police and politicians have in confronting what they deem priorities in their communities.

Meanwhile, the state House gave final approval Tuesday to a bill that would prohibit cities, towns and counties from having policies intended to prevent the full enforcement of federal immigration law. The proposal, approved on a 38-21 vote, now heads to the Senate for consideration.

Republican state Rep. John Kavanagh of Fountain Hills, a former police officer who voted for the bill, said politicians shouldn’t tell any officers to turn their backs on law violators. “The police should be unhandcuffed and be allowed to do their jobs,” Kavanagh said.

Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema of Phoenix, an opponent of the proposal, said the standards set by the bill might leave police departments that are making sensible decisions vulnerable to punishments.

“I don’t think there’s enough flexibility in this bill,” Sinema said.