By Howard Fischer | AZ Capitol Times
Key Points
- Arizona lawmakers advance bill criminalizing warnings about ICE arrests
- Democrats argue bill violates First Amendment rights to free speech
- Lawmakers included a “severability” clause in the bill for legal challenges
State lawmakers are advancing a Republican proposal to make criminals out of those who warn others that they are in “imminent or ongoing” threat of being arrested or picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Legislative Democrats say SB 1635 is so broad that it would allow police to arrest someone for simply warning their neighbors that ICE is in the neighborhood. And that, they argue, is a violation of First Amendment rights.
Sen. John Kavanagh acknowledged the original version of his legislation could have been interpreted to do that. In fact, the Fountain Hills Republican admitted he crafted it after Democratic state Sen. Analise Ortiz posted the location of ICE agents in her Phoenix neighborhood. The measure specifically targets activities not just like that but even people blowing whistles to warn of the presence of federal agents.
But Kavanagh conceded that would not pass constitutional muster. So he said the new version, the one just approved by the House, is intentionally narrower, targeting only those who notify someone who they know is being sought by law enforcement.
