Arizona Legislature Introduces Immigration Omnibus Dubbed "SB1070 On Steroids"

Today, Russell Pearce unleashed his latest Anti-Immigrant legislative juggernaut, which according to the Arizona Republic has been dubbed "SB1070 on steroids."

The legislations bill number is SB1611, and can be found on the Arizona State Legislature website here. The bill is making its way thru the state Senate Appropriations committee today, below are just a handful of the legislative proposals in the legislation seek to deny immigrants access to the following:

Public Benefits

• Requires documentation demonstrating lawful presence in the U.S. for all federal public benefits, including those that do not require participants to be U.S. citizens, legal residents or otherwise lawfully present.

Public Housing

• Requires a public housing authority, city, town or county (PHA) to require that a person who is applying for public housing provide verification of U.S. citizenship or documented verification of qualified alien status.

• Requires a PHA to evict all residents of a dwelling unit in rental housing accommodations owned, operated, managed or contracted for by the PHA if a resident of that unit allows a person who is in the U.S. illegally to reside in that unit.

Unlawful Vehicle Operation by an Alien

• Specifies that it is unlawful for a person to operate a motor vehicle in Arizona if the person is unlawfully present in the U.S.

Schools

• Removes the requirement for a school or school district to notify a person enrolling a pupil that within 30 days the person must provide a certified copy of the pupil’s birth certificate or other reliable proof of the pupil’s identity and age.

E-Verify

• Requires the Attorney General (AG) to provide a notice of noncompliance to any employer who does not provide proof that the employer is registered with and is participating in the E-Verify Program.

Each one of these sections contains more subsections which essentially create more stringent enforcement standards on the area they effect.

What is more notable is that this legislation takes federal laws that are already more or less in effect and makes them more punitive. Which is to say that these proposed laws are nothing if not more invasive for everyone. This legislation would give the Arizona government an opportunity to ask everyone in the state for not only their citizenship status but a whole host of other documents.

For example if someone were to move from California to Arizona, they would be required to at a minimum provide one of the following documents:

a) a birth certificate or delayed birth certificate issued in any state, territory or possession of the U.S. b) a U.S. passport or certificate of birth abroad c) a foreign passport with a U.S. visa d) an I-94 form with a photograph e) a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employment authorization document or refugee travel document f) a U.S. certificate of naturalization or certificate of citizenship g) a Tribal certificate of Indian blood h) a Tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs affidavit of birth; i) an Arizona driver license issued after 1996 or an Arizona non operating identification license.

All in the name of cracking down on undocumented immigrants of course... More on this legislation to come. Stay tuned.