Lawmakers approve bill forcing local authorities to hold a person when asked by immigration officers

Audio By Carbonatix

etting the stage for a lawsuit, the Arizona House of Representatives yesterday advanced a proposal forbidding state and local authorities from releasing someone that immigration authorities want them to hold.

HB2121 would make it illegal for any public official to refuse to comply with an “immigration detainer.” That is a formal request by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that a state or local agency keep for up to 48 hours someone not in this country legally, giving time for federal agents to pick them up.

But the measure by Rep. Bob Thorpe, R-Flagstaff, goes even further than the directive to hold immigrants.

It allows any Arizona legal resident to file suit. If a judge finds there is a violation he or she has to impose a penalty of at least $500 – and up to $5,000 – for each day that the policy of refusing to hold undocumented people is in force.

The move comes on the heels of the decision by Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone that, if a judge has ordered them released, his jails will no longer hold people any longer than necessary to process them for the state charges they are facing.

It does not stop notification of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the county has someone the feds may want. But it spells out that if federal agents want someone, they have to arrive before release processing is done.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said that’s what’s required by federal law.

Read the full story at AZ Capitol Times

Corrie O'Connor