PHOENIX — A controversial Arizona bill that would criminalize warning people about imminent arrests moved forward Tuesday after a heated hearing.
The legislation, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh, would make it illegal for someone to alert a person to avoid, hinder or delay an arrest in any case, not just immigration enforcement.
"In Arizona, for some reason, our obstructing statute only talks about physically obstructing, blocking the police, locking the door, something like that. It does not deal with warning the police, warning somebody of an imminent arrest by the police," Kavanagh said.
The bill comes as community members have been posting ICE warnings on social media following recent immigration raids. However, Kavanagh said broad posts would still be allowed under the proposed legislation.
What would be prohibited is a directed notification from one person to another that authorities are looking for them specifically. An alert could be electronic, a verbal warning, a gesture or through things like whistles — but only when targeted.
"It's not just immigration offenses, could be the local police trying to pick up a child molester," Kavanagh said.
Critics argue the bill poses First Amendment concerns and creates ambiguity in enforcement.
"Whenever there is authoritarian power coming against us, we reserve the right to let others know about it,” LUCHA spokesperson Vivian Serafin said. "If there is ambiguous language anywhere, they are going to be taking advantage of that," Serafin added.
Tuesday, security removed protesters during the debate. Opponents warned about the bill's broad language.
The bill cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee with a split vote.
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