Thread: Senate OKs bill to apply trespassing law to immigrants

http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/stor ... d0b1b.html

02:43 PM Mountain Standard Time on Wednesday, April 12, 2006

By The Associated Press

Two days after a big immigration march in Phoenix, the Arizona Senate today approved legislation to make illegal immigrants subject to the state's criminal trespassing law.

The Senate's 17-to-12 vote returned the bill to the House for its own vote today.

Passage would send it to Governor Napolitano, who earlier today declined to say what she'd do with it.

The latest legislative action came one day after House-Senate conferees softened possible criminal penalties that illegal immigrants could face if they are prosecuted under state law.

The bill also gives law enforcement officers the option of instead transferring arrested immigrants to federal authorities for deportation.

Under the revised version, a first offense would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail rather than a felony punishable by up to a year of incarceration as under the original.

Subsequent offenses would still be a felony but a lower class of felony than previously proposed.

a first offense would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail rather than a felony punishable by up to a year of incarceration as under the original.

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