Just two days after an estimated 100,000 people rallied in support of rights for illegal aliens at the state capitol, the Arizona Legislature authorized the arrest of illegal aliens under Arizona’s criminal trespassing laws. The law would also empower local law enforcement officials to question the immigration status of anyone they have lawfully detained.
The state Senate voted 17-12 and the House voted 33-27 to approve the bill.
According to the Arizona Republic, Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano has hinted that she will veto measures that criminalize undocumented immigrants' presence in the United States.
Napolitano would not comment on the bill late Wednesday, but her office released more than a dozen letters from law enforcement agencies urging her to reject it. Opponents cited a lack of money to enforce the law, concerns it would open the state to a host of lawsuits and potential civil rights violations as reasons it should be rejected:
Dale Norris, executive director of the Arizona Police Association, said his organization opposes the bill because local officers have no training in federal immigration laws. Without the proper training, he said, officers could expose themselves to lawsuits for false arrests or racial profiling.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, has promised to challenge the measure if it becomes law.
An effort to prosecute illegal immigrants on trespassing charges failed last year in New Hampshire.
The United States is indeed a nation of immigrants, and immigration still provides great economic and cultural benefits. But the borders simply cannot be left unchecked. Our security demands tougher policing of immigration. If the feds refuse to do it, then authorizing local police to do it is a step in the right direction.
It's good to see some lawmakers standing up for legal residents.
UPDATE: At Captain's Quarters, Ed Morrissey posts that Napolitano will either have to support the enforcement of state law or specifically cast herself and the Democrats as opposed to enforcing the law regarding illegal immigrants. I think Ed is wrong here. Napolitano will rest her hat on law enforcement opposition to the new law and thereby avoid Ed's dilema.
At Martin's Musings, John has additional thoughts..
Governor Napolitano has staed she for border protection. This is only a political ploy to keep her seat as Governor. She has vetoed Bills the legislature has passed cover border security, the bill to send the national guard to the border, now the bill to enforce laws on the books and new bills to arrest illeagal aliens crossing into the U.S.along the Arizona border. In my oppion her interest are in getting votes no matter if leagal or not. She has vetoed bills on party lines rather than what is in the states best interest, case in fact the bill to require shools to have a program for none engish speaking students, this was Federal mandate, costing the Arizona tax payers $500,000 a day.
Posted by: John Peters | Thursday, June 01, 2006 at 02:37 PM