New Arizona bill would step up immigration effort

PHOENIX - A year after enacting the controversial law known as SB1070, Arizona legislators continue to line up additional measures targeting illegal immigration.

A bill introduced Monday would toughen the state's mandate that employers check the eligibility of new hires, tighten identification requirements for school enrollment and other public services, and make it a crime for someone in the United States unlawfully to drive a vehicle in Arizona.

The bill sponsored by Senate President Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, is to be considered Tuesday by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

That committee is already scheduled to consider other legislation on illegal immigration, including bills to challenge automatic citizenship for U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants and to require hospitals to confirm whether nonemergency patients are in the country legally.

Pearce, the chief sponsor of the SB1070 law that requires local law enforcement to check immigration status in some cases, and the state's employer sanctions law enacted in 2006, said the new measure is "just cleanup of existing statutes."

"It's mostly the taxpayer stuff," Pearce said, referring to previous state laws intended to prevent illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits.

With Arizona's budget troubles driving proposals to reduce eligibility for the state's health care problem for low-income people, "the latest thing we need to do is have illegal aliens on (Medicaid) and other benefits, and that's most of what this is after."

His latest bill would have the state suspend licenses of employers who don't submit proof that they have registered to use the federal E-Verify system. The state's 2006 employer sanctions law mandated participation but compliance has been spotty.

Another provision would make it a crime punishable by at least 30 days in jail to drive a motor vehicle in Arizona if in the United States illegally. Violations also would trigger vehicle forfeitures.

The bill also would spell out what documents can be used for school and university enrollment, and education officials would be barred from admitting students who cannot demonstrate lawful presence in the United States through use of the permitted documents.

Other provisions drop references in state laws to federal requirements on eligibility for Medicaid and other public benefits, impose new restrictions on issuance of motor vehicle documents and require at least 180 days in jail as part of any probation sentence for identity fraud.

The bill also would make an existing ban on bail for illegal immigrants accused of committing serious crimes apply to those accused of any felony, and it would ban state and local governments from accepting identification cards issued by foreign governments' consulates as identification.