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Thursday, May 25, 2006 · Last updated 11:03 p.m. PT

Arizona Legislature OKs immigration bill

By JACQUES BILLEAUD
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

PHOENIX -- The Legislature approved a bill Thursday that would criminalize the presence of illegal immigrants in Arizona and provide $160 million to help authorities in the nation's busiest illicit entry point with their immigration crackdown.

The legislation also would set fines for businesses that continue to employ illegal immigrants after receiving warnings, require local police agencies to train officers in enforcing immigration law and deny education benefits to immigrants.

The bill, which was approved 33-22 by the House and 16-9 by the Senate, now goes to Gov. Janet Napolitano. Spokeswoman Jeanine L'Ecuyer declined to say whether the governor would sign it, but lawmakers on both sides of the debate predicted a veto.

Officials from Arizona's four border counties have urged Napolitano to reject the bill.

Ray Borane, mayor of the border city of Douglas, said the legislation would be forced on communities merely to help ease the public's frustration with Arizona's immigration woes, including huge health care and education costs for immigrants and their families.

Republican Rep. Russell Pearce, the driving force behind the proposal, said the state needs to confront those woes immediately. He rejected calls from opponents to wait as Congress considers a massive immigration overhaul.

The plan would resurrect a proposal to criminalize the presence of illegal immigrants by expanding the state's trespassing law to let local authorities arrest those who sneak into the country.

Napolitano vetoed that measure last month, siding with police agencies that wanted immigration arrests to remain the responsibility of the federal government and complained that the duty would be a drag on their budgets.

One key distinction is that the new version could be enforced only when police first approach a person about another offense, such as a traffic violation.

A first offense would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. Subsequent offenses would be a felony carrying a sentence of at least three years in prison.

Among other things, the bill would provide $54 million for communities for arresting and detaining illegal immigrants and nearly $29 million for border efforts by state police.

About $50 million, to be distributed over two years, would go toward radars to help spot illegal border-crossers. Authorities would get another $2 million to crack down on illegal hirings.

The bill would require businesses to fire employees whose Social Security numbers are invalid. Illegal immigrants frequently use forgeries to meet federal employment eligibility requirements.

It would let state prosecutors seek civil penalties as high as $5,000 and the suspension or revocation of business licenses if an employer under investigation fails to stop employing illegal immigrants.

The bill would also require local police to get training in immigration law and sign agreements with the federal government to let local officers investigate and arrest illegal immigrants.

Many police officials have resisted efforts to enforce immigration law, saying it would detract from their roles in investigating thefts, assaults and other crimes and would jeopardize the trust they have built in immigrant communities.

The bill also would prohibit illegal immigrants from attending adult education classes and receiving cheaper in-state tuition and financial assistance at the state's public universities and community colleges.