By Laura Gómez | Arizona Mirror
Immigrant advocacy groups on Thursday called on Gov. Doug Ducey and lawmakers to stand down on efforts to strengthen the collaboration between law enforcement and immigration officials.
Two legislative proposals, House Bill 2598 and House Concurrent Resolution 2036, are dubbed by proponents as a ban on sanctuary cities and measures to increase public safety, but several community groups say they are a new version of the state’s controversial immigration enforcement law Senate Bill 1070, which was enacted 10 years ago.
“When SB1070 passed in 2010, it unleashed state-mandated racial profiling of Latino Arizonans. Now, the legislature is creating SB1070+,” states a petition created by Living United for Change Arizona, which advocates for immigrant communities and working class families. “The economic blowback from SB1070 was severely consequential, and HB2598 furthers the same divisive and racist regime.”
HB2598, sponsored by Rep. Bret Roberts, R-Maricopa, would require Arizona agencies and local jurisdictions to comply with immigration detainers. Those are requests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement made to local law enforcement to hold a person in detention until federal agents can pick them up for deportation proceedings. Texas already requires this.
