But police were deeply divided on the matter, with police unions backing it but the state police chief's association opposing the bill, contending it could erode trust with immigrants who could be potential witnesses.
Immigrant rights groups were horrified, and contended that Arizona would be transformed into a police state.
"It's beyond the pale," said Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. "It appears to mandate racial profiling."
The bill, known as SB 1070, makes it a misdemeanor to lack proper immigration paperwork in Arizona. It also requires police officers, if they form a "reasonable suspicion" that someone is an illegal immigrant, to determine the person's immigration status.
Currently, officers can inquire about someone's immigration status only if the person is a suspect in another crime. The bill allows officers to avoid the immigration issue if it would be impractical or hinder another investigation.
Citizens can sue to compel police agencies to comply with the law, and no city or agency can formulate a policy directing its workers to ignore the law -- a provision that advocates say prevents so-called sanctuary orders that police not inquire about people's immigration status.
The bill cements the position of Arizona, whose border with Mexico is the most popular point of entry for illegal immigrants into this country, as the state most aggressively using its own laws to fight illegal immigration. In 2006 the state passed a law that would dissolve companies with a pattern of hiring illegal immigrants. Last year it made it a crime for a government worker to give improper benefits to an illegal immigrant.
Mark Krikorian at the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank that advocates tougher immigration enforcement, said the legislation was a logical extension of the state's previous enforcement efforts.
"It makes sense that they would be the first to do it since they're ground zero for illegal immigration," he said.
Krikorian added that he doubted the law would be used much. "Obviously, their prosecutors aren't going to go out and prosecute every illegal alien," he said. "It gives police and prosecutors another tool should they need it."
Opponents, however, raised the specter of officers untrained in immigration law being required to determine who is in the country legally. They noted that though the bill says race cannot solely be used to form a suspicion about a person's legality, it implicitly allows it to be a factor.
"A lot of U.S. citizens are going to be swept up in the application of this law for something as simple as having an accent and leaving their wallet at home," said Alessandra Soler Meetze, president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.
The ACLU and other groups have vowed to sue to block the bill from taking effect should Brewer sign it. They note that a federal court struck down a New Hampshire law in 2005 that said illegal immigrants were trespassing, declaring that only the federal government has the authority to enforce immigration. Another provision of the Arizona law, which makes day laborers illegal, violates the 1st Amendment, critics contend.
The issue of local enforcement of immigration laws has been especially heated in Arizona, where Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has taken an aggressive stance, conducting sweeps in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods to round up illegal immigrants.
His actions have drawn a civil rights investigation from the Department of Justice but strong praise from Arizonans. Other agencies have argued against Arpaio's stance, saying that they need illegal immigrants to trust them enough to report crimes.
Brewer, a Republican, has not taken a public stance on the bill. She replaced Janet Napolitano, a Democrat who became President Obama's Homeland Security chief last year. Napolitano had vetoed similar bills in the past. Brewer faces a primary challenge next month; most observers expect her to sign the measure.
Some Republicans have privately complained about the bill, which Pearce has been pushing for several years, but were loath to vote against it in an election year. The House was scheduled to approve it last week but the vote was delayed until Tuesday to give sponsors a chance to round up enough votes. It picked up steam after the killing late last month of a rancher on the Arizona side of the Mexican border. Footprints from the crime scene led back to Mexico.
In an impassioned debate Tuesday, both sides relied on legal and moral arguments.
"Illegal immigration brings crime, kidnapping, drugs -- drains our government services," said Rep. John Kavanagh, a Republican. "Nobody can stand on the sidelines and not take part in this battle."
Democrats were just as passionate. "This bill, whether we intend it or not, terrorizes the people we profit from," said Rep. Tom Chabin.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-arizona-immigration14-2010apr14,0,4677282.story
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ICE officers using program to control criminal immigrants
"Secure Communities" program allows ICE to check criminal and immigration records of everyone booked into custody
by Stephen Wall,
The Daily Bulletin
04/13/2010 |
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and federal immigration authorities have another tool to keep dangerous criminal immigrants off the streets.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on Tuesday began using information-sharing technology that modernizes the process to accurately identify immigrants arrested for crimes in this country.
The program, known as Secure Communities, allows ICE to automatically check criminal and immigration records of everyone booked into custody.
Previously, sheriff's officials were able to get the person's criminal background electronically but they didn't have a way to get immigration information quickly.
Under the old system, many people provided false names, dates of birth and claimed to be U.S. citizens at the time of booking, said David Venturella, Secure Communities executive director.
Verifying biographical information using the previous method required local officials to make a special request to ICE. The process sometimes took days, he said.
With the new system, fingerprints are simultaneously checked against both the FBI criminal database and immigration records maintained by the Department of Homeland Security. It now takes an average of one to three hours to get accurate immigration information returned, he said.
"For the first time, we get a full and complete picture of the individual," Venturella said. "We're able to take action on people who should not be
released back into our communities."
The program started in October 2008 and is in use by 120 jurisdictions in 16 states, including 11 California counties.
Secure Communities has identified more than 18,000 foreign-born individuals charged with or convicted of crimes such as murder, rape and kidnapping. Of that number, about 4,000 have been removed from the United States. The remaining number who have been identified but not removed are completing their sentences, according to ICE.
In Los Angeles County, the program has identified 3,522 high-level offenders since it was launched in August.
"It helps people from falling through the cracks," said Capt. Gerald Cooper, who heads the inmate reception center for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "It helps prevent us from allowing very dangerous people from getting out of custody and back into the community when they should be interviewed by ICE and potentially held by ICE."
ICE officials say Secure Communities complements the 287(g) program, which gives local law enforcement the power to perform immigration duties.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department expects the new program to be a success.
"Any level of extra review of arrestees to determine their immigration status is going to be a benefit," said Sgt. Ernie Perez, who oversees the booking process at West Valley Detention Center.
http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_14877262?source=rss |
