Jailing entrants may be on ballot
Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
Feb 16, 2007
PHOENIX — State lawmakers are setting the stage for yet another battle at the ballot box over border security and illegal immigration.
On Thursday the House Judiciary Committee agreed to ask voters to approve a law making it a state crime for someone who entered this country illegally to be anywhere in Arizona. That would include not just public places but even private ones.
The proposal, which now goes to the full House, would make a first offense punishable by up to six months in jail.
But repeat violators could face 2 1/2 years in state prison. If they have illegal drugs or dangerous weapons, HCR 2022 would make them subject to five years behind bars.
A different panel decided earlier in the week to seek voter approval to spend $25 million to buy ground radar and other devices designed to spot people coming across the border illegally.
And another proposed ballot measure awaiting a hearing would require local police departments to cooperate with federal agencies in enforcing immigration law.
Even more may be in the offing. Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, said he may try to get voters to approve tough penalties against employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers.
Pearce has offered a bill to do that statutorily. But Pearce said he believes some Republican colleagues may dilute the proposal amid intense lobbying by business interests. And even if it gets through the Legislature, it's not a done deal. Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed a similar measure last year.
His alternative would bypass the Legislature, and instead start a petition drive to put the issue on the ballot in the form he wants.
All this could mean the third election in a row where voters are asked to approve changes aimed at curbing illegal immigration. All four measures on the 2006 ballot were approved, as was one two years earlier.
Pearce said he's not trying to turn police officers and sheriff's deputies into full-time immigration enforcers. In fact, his HCR 2022 is worded so a person could be questioned about legal presence in this country only if first stopped for some other reason.
And Pearce said police remain free to simply hold the person until federal agents arrive.
