State of Arizona Close to Criminalizing the Presence of Undocumented Immigrants
The Orlando Sentinel reported today that anti-immigrant lawmakers in the Arizona Legislature banded together and introduced legislation to criminalize the presence of undocumented immigrants in their state.
If the legislation becomes law, Arizona would be the only state to criminalize the presence of illegal immigrants by means expanding the definition of trespassing. The law would state and local law enforcement to determine the immigration status of anyone they know or have reason to believe is in the United States illegally. Arizona currently has about 460,000 undocumented immigrants.
Immigrant rights supporters very worried about the state’s intentions to expand the trespassing laws because it would lead to racial profiling and people who are U.S. citizens and green card holders who have foreign roots would be equally subject to questioning by police because of their name, race, or even skin color.
If this becomes law in Arizona, the chances that other states might follow suit would increase and in the worse case scenario could cause a panic and an outcry.
We will monitor the situation and provide updates to the legislation as it is made available.
