It would also make it a crime for illegal immigrants to seek work while concealing their legal status and for employers to “intentionally or negligently” hire them.
Initiative proponent Michael Erickson would need to collect signatures from 433,971 registered voters by April 21, 2011, in order to qualify it for the ballot. If it is validated, the measure could be placed before voters in February or June of 2012.
The Obama administration challenged Arizona's law in court, arguing that SB 1070 usurped the federal government's sole authority to regulate immigration. A federal judge blocked key portions of the law in July just before it was slated to take effect.
Both sides are awaiting a decision from the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on the lower court's ruling.
Erickson, chairman of the Belmont-based Support Federal Immigration Law Committee, said he had studied the federal judge's decision when crafting his initiative and is confident that it would pass any legal challenges.
Unlike the Arizona law, the California proposal specifies that law enforcement officers must verify immigration status “in a timely manner at the scene of the stop or detainment” and may only do so through information provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or other federal agencies.
Erickson said the proponents decided to introduce an initiative in California before the Arizona legal battle had run its course in part because they were concerned about the spillover effects of the Arizona law.
“Our concern is with the possibility, if not probability, of an increase in not only illegal immigration in California but with a drug infestation, in part because Arizona is cracking down in their state,” he said.
Fiscal analysis of the proposed measure by the Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance noted that it could lead to “potentially significant cost savings” in government services provided to illegal immigrants.
But the analysis also pointed out that the measure could lead to tens of millions of dollars in increased costs to the criminal justice system to arrest, prosecute and detain migrants. | 
