President Obama and DOJ to challenge Arizona, not support ArizonaSoap Box Ravings believes much of what the Left is screaming about Arizona's Immigration Law can be resolved by reading the law. So here it is, read it yourself and see if you can find the doom and gloom forecast by President Obama, who as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the United States fails to enforce US Laws already in place regardless of his sworn oath to uphold and support those laws.
Soap Box Ravings would also like to point out that demonstrations against Arizona and the Arizona immigration policies seem to have a different type of people demonstrating than those Tea Party folk. Who would have thunk it.
Arizona and Illegal Immigration
A posting of the Arizona SB 1070:
SB 1070 makes changes to laws relating to the enforcement on immigration laws, trespassing by illegal aliens, day laborers, harboring or transporting illegal aliens and employer sanctions.
Summary of the Proposed Strike–Everything Amendment to SB 1070
The proposed strike-everything amendment to SB 1070 makes changes to laws relating to the enforcement on immigration laws, failure to carry an alien registration document, day laborers, harboring or transporting illegal aliens and employer sanctions.
History
8 U.S.C. § 1373(c) requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to respond to inquiries by federal, state, or local government agencies seeking to verify or ascertain the citizenship or immigration status of any individual within the jurisdiction of the agency for any purpose authorized by law, by providing the requested verification or status information.
Laws 2007, Ch. 279 enacted the Legal Arizona Workers Act (Act). The Act: expands aggravated taking the identity of another person or entity to include the intent to obtain employment; prohibits an employer from intentionally employing an unauthorized alien or knowingly employing an unauthorized alien; requires the Attorney General (AG) or county attorney to investigate complaints and classifies filing a false and frivolous complaint as a class 3 misdemeanor; provides for license suspension for the first violation; requires license revocation on a second violation during a probationary period; and after December 31, 2007, requires every employer to utilize E-Verify to verify employment eligibility. Laws 2008, Chapter 152 further amended the Act.
Provisions
Enforcement of Immigration Law
•Prohibits officials and agencies of this state or counties, municipalities and political subdivisions from restricting or limiting the enforcement of the federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law.
•Requires officials and agencies to reasonably attempt to determine the immigration status of a person involved in a legitimate contact where reasonable suspicion exists regarding the immigration status of the person.
•Stipulates that if the person is arrested, the person’s immigration status must be determined before the person is released and must be verified with the federal government.
•Stipulates that a law enforcement official or agency cannot solely consider race, color or national origin when implementing these provisions, except as permitted by the U.S. or Arizona Constitution.
•Specifies that a person is presumed to be lawfully present if the person provides any of the following:
Ø A valid Arizona driver license.
Ø A valid Arizona nonoperating identification license.
Ø A tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification.
Ø A valid federal, state or local government issued identification.
•Requires that if a person is convicted of any state or local law, on discharge from imprisonment or any fine imposed, the person must be transferred to ICE or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
•Authorizes a law enforcement agency to securely transport an unlawfully present alien to a federal facility.
•Prohibits, except as provided in federal law, officials and agencies of counties, cities, towns or other political subdivisions from being prevented or restricted from sending, receiving or maintaining information relating to the immigration status, of any individual or exchanging that information with another governmental entity for the following official purposes:
Ø Determination of eligibility for any public benefit, service or license.
Ø Verification of any claim of legal domicile if legal domicile is required by law or judicial order.
Ø If the person is an alien, determination of the person’s compliance with federal registration laws.
Ø Pursuant to federal laws regarding communication between government agencies and federal immigration agencies.
•Allows a person to bring an action in superior court to challenge officials and agencies of the state, counties, cities, towns or other political subdivisions that adopt or implement a policy that limits or restricts the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law.
•Allows the court to order any of the following, if there is a judicial finding of a violation:
Ø That the person who brought the action recover court costs and attorney fees.
Ø That the entity pays a civil penalty of at least $1,000 and not to exceed $5,000 for each day that the policy has remained in effect after it has been found to be violating these provisions.
•States that the court will collect the penalty and transmit the collected monies to the Department of Public Safety for deposit in the Gang and Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission (GIITEM) Fund.
•Indemnifies officers against actions brought under these provisions, except if the officer has been adjudged to have acted in bad faith.
•Stipulates that these provisions are to be implemented consistent with federal immigration law protecting the civil right of all persons and respecting the privileges and immunities of US citizens.
Willful Failure to Complete or Carry an Alien Registration Document
•Specifies that in addition to any violation of federal law, a person is guilty of willful failure to complete or carry an alien registration document if the person is in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1304(e) or 1306(a).
•Stipulates that the final determination of immigration status must be made by either:
Ø A law enforcement officer who is authorized by the federal government to verify or ascertain an alien’s immigration status.
Ø ICE or CBP pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1373(c).
•Prevents a person convicted of the new offense from being eligible for suspension or commutation of sentence or release on any basis until the sentence is served.
•Requires the court to order the person to pay jail costs and an additional assessment of:
Ø At least $500 for a first offense.
Ø Twice the amount the person was ordered to pay for the first offense if this is the second or subsequent offense.
•States that the court will collect the assessments and transmit the collected monies to the Department of Public Safety for deposit in a special sub-account of the account established for GIITEM.
•Stipulates that monies in the sub-account are subject to legislative appropriation for distribution for gang and immigration enforcement and for county jail costs relating to illegal immigration.
•Makes a first offense a class 1 misdemeanor.
•Increases the penalty to a class 3 felony if the person commits the offense while in possession of:
Ø A dangerous drug (A.R.S. § 13-3401).
Ø Precursor chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine (A.R.S. § 13-3404.01).
Ø A deadly weapon (A.R.S. § 13-3101).
Ø A dangerous instrument (A.R.S. § 13-105).
Ø Property used for committing an act of terrorism (A.R.S. § 13-2308.01).
•Makes violations a class 4 felony if either:
Ø It is a second or subsequent violation.
Ø Within 60 days, the person has been removed from the U.S. either under 8 U.S.C. § 1229a or 8 U.S.C. § 1229c.
Unlawfully Picking up Passengers for Work
•Specifies that it is a class 1 misdemeanor for an occupant of a motor vehicle that is stopped on a street, roadway, or highway to attempt to hire or hire and pick up passengers for work at a different location, if the motor vehicle blocks or impedes the normal movement of traffic.
•Specifies that it is a class 1 misdemeanor for a person to enter a motor vehicle that is stopped on a street, roadway or highway in order to be hired by an occupant of the motor vehicle and to be transported to work at a different location, if the motor vehicle blocks or impedes the normal movement of traffic.
•Specifies that it is a class 1 misdemeanor for a person who is unlawfully present who is an unauthorized alien to knowingly apply for work, solicit work in a public place or perform work as an employee or independent contractor.
•Defines solicit and unauthorized alien.
Unlawfully Transporting or Harboring Unlawful Aliens
•Stipulates that it is unlawful for a person to:
Ø Transport or move an alien in a means of transportation, or attempt to do so, if the person knows or recklessly disregards the fact that the alien is here unlawfully.
Ø Conceal, harbor or shield an alien, or attempt to, if the person knows or recklessly disregards the fact that the alien is here unlawfully.
Ø Encourage or induce an alien to come to this state if the person knows or recklessly disregards the fact that doing so would be a violation of law.
•Specifies that a means of transportation used in a violation of these provisions is subject to mandatory vehicle immobilization or impoundment.
•Provides the defense to prosecution if the person was providing or assisted in providing emergency, public safety or public health services otherwise available to the general public with regard to income.
•Stipulates that violators are guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor and subject to a fine of at least $1,000. However, a violation involving 10 or more illegal aliens is a class 6 felony and subject to a fine of at least $1,000 for each alien involved.
•Requires a peace officer to immobilize or impound a person’s vehicle if the officer determines either that:
Ø In furtherance of the illegal presence of an alien the person is transporting or moving, or attempting to do so in a vehicle if the person knows or recklessly disregards the fact that the alien is here unlawfully.
Ø The person is concealing, harboring or shielding an alien in this state, or attempting to do so in a vehicle if the person knows or recklessly disregards the fact that the alien is here unlawfully.
Employer Sanctions
•Provides employers with the affirmative defense that they were entrapped, but they must admit the substantial elements of the violation.
•Stipulates that the employer has the burden of proof proving the following by clear and convincing evidence:
Ø The idea of committing the violation started with the officer or their agents.
Ø The officers or their agents urged and induced the employer to commit the violation.
Ø The employer was not predisposed to commit the violation before the law enforcement officer or agents urged and induced the employer to do so.
•Stipulates that an employer is not entrapped if the employer was predisposed to violate the law and law enforcement merely provided the employer with the opportunity. Additionally, it is not entrapment for law enforcement to use a ruse or to conceal their identity.
•Requires employers to keep a record of the employment verification from E-verify for the duration of an employee’s employment, or three years, whichever is longer.
Miscellaneous
•Authorizes peace officers to lawfully stop a person if they have reasonable suspicion to believe the person is in violation of a civil traffic offense and human smuggling laws.
•Authorizes a peace officer to arrest a person without a warrant if the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has committed any public offense that makes the person removable from the U.S.
•Establishes the GIITEM fund (fund) and directs monies collected from penalties resulting from policies limiting the enforcement of federal immigration law to the fund.
•Requires the Arizona Department of Public Safety to administer the fund, which is subject to legislative appropriation and is to be used for gang and immigration enforcement and for county jail reimbursement for costs relating to illegal immigration.
•Contains intent and severability clauses.
•Specifies that this act may be cited as the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.”
•Makes technical and conforming changes.
