Thread: AZ: New immigration uproar: crowds pack State Senate over SB 1611

New immigration uproar: crowds pack State Senate over SB 1611

KGUN9
February 14, 2012
PHOENIX (KGUN9-TV)

Illegal immigration is back in the hot seat at the Arizona State capitol.


Russell Pearce, the State Senator who engineered the tough anti-illegal immigration law SB 1070 is pushing an even broader illegal immigration bill through the state legislature. SB 1611 would tighten requirements for enrolling in school or other government services and push employers harder to verify immigration status for potential employees.

The bill will also make it criminally unlawful for someone in the country illegally to drive a car in Arizona. If someone is caught, the car can be seized and sold.


On Tuesday, protesters stood outside the Capitol building holding signs reading, "Pearce, what did we do to you?" The Senate halls overflowed with people eager to show they support or oppose the law. They would not fit in the small room where the Appropriations committee heard the bill. When the overflow room overflowed, Senate staff opened two more.


Protests over illegal immigration are regular events at the Capitol, but illegal immigration advocates see Sen. Pearce's omnibus immigration bill as a special threat.

KGUN9 reporter Craig Smith asked Sen. Pearce about fears the law will make anyone who looks Hispanic prove they're here legally, even if they've been US citizens their whole lives.


"No you can't say that. That is an absolute fabrication. They can't say that," Pearce argued. "That's demeaning to our law enforcement. They know when they've got good documents. They know when that's based on reasonable suspicion and its very demeaning to assume they're gonna hassle citizens."


Immigration rights activists see the law as a special threat because it covers so many areas of everyday life.


"We call this the mother of all anti-illegal immigrant bills because Russell Pearce said it himself. He's doing a clean-up. He's trying to make it impossible for anyone who's an illegal immigrant here in Arizona to live or be able to find work and provide for their families," said Sandra Castro.


Sen. Pearce said SB 1611 is a clean-up bill because it consolidates a lot of existing laws into one bill.


"Entering and living in the U.S. illegally is a crime, it's not a race. Arizona didn't make illegal illegal. It was already illegal. Americans want our immigration laws enforced. We're not taking that anymore. We want the winking and nodding and the disrespect to the laws of this land to stop and that's what this bill is all about - to clean up and put into play some tweaks to force compliance," Pearce explained.


To Jennifer Allen of Border Action Network, the omnibus bill is wider and worse than SB 1070, which required law enforcement officers to verify the immigration status of someone if they suspected that person may be in the U.S. illegally. The law sparked widespread protests and is now the center of a federal court case.


"The backlash that we saw against SB1070 from sectors, communities all over the state will pale in comparison to the reaction from school departments, from universities, community colleges, health care workers," Allen said. "This is essentially a grab bag that includes about 30 different areas of state law."


Allen suggests even Pearce's fellow Republicans are growing weary of high profile immigration fights, but he is still the Senate President, presiding over a dominant Republican majority, so it would be a major upset if the bill didn't pass.

New immigration uproar: crowds pack State Senate over SB 1611 - Home

Article is a year old!!!

Originally Posted by dogpile

Article is a year old!!!

You are so right, dogpile. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Do not find that it was ever posted however this is old news, dated June 30, 2011.