I spent several hours CAREFULLY reading the entire AZ immigration bill. I had read it before but I didn't get the full impact of everything that it says.
The opponents of the immigration bill are celebrating too soon. I think they were had. I think that the AZ legislature put things in the bill that they didn't much care about knowing that those things would be challenged.
I didn't understand why illegals were getting out of AZ as fast they can at first, but after reading the bill, now I understand it.
If you get arrested under this bill your life is over. You won't be deported. Well, not at first. Let me just describe the BEST CASE scenario for someone who is arrested under this bill.
One section of the bill makes it a crime for a person to be in Arizona without legal status. The actual crime is trespass. That doesn't sound like a big deal, trespass is usually more or less a civil matter. Oh, and the bill defines trespass as being on any private or public property without proper documentation as to your legal status. That means anywhere in AZ.
So, a person is arrested under this law and charged with criminal trespass. One thing you have to understand about this law, all sentences are mandatory, there is no probation or parole allowed. For the trespass there is an automatic $500 fine plus jail time, let's say 30 days. It doesn't stop there though. There are mitigating circumstances that can make the trespass a class 4 felony. That's right, a class 4 felony. That is two and a half years mandatory sentence. Let's say that this person doesn't fall into that category and pays their $500 fine and serves their (mandatory) 30 day sentence. Now they are turned over to ICE/INS and deported. No big deal, the immigrant thinks, just come back in a few days.
Now the immigrant is caught again somehow (and this can be years later) and goes to court again. One of the circumstances that makes the trespass a class 4 felony is having been deported before for immigration violation. So, now the immigrant is facing a mandatory 2 1/2 year sentence plus a fine and they cannot be turned over to ICE/INS until AFTER they serve their sentence.
There are several mitigating circumstances that can make the criminal trespass a class 2 felony.
Basically if you are in Arizona and you do not have legal status and you get involved with the police somehow, your life is over, there is no probation, no parole, no appeal, no plea bargain. You are going to do jail time, pay fine, and then be deported, and if you get caught a second time, well give your family some pictures of yourself because they are not seeing you again for a LONG time.
One of the mitigating circumstances that can make your trespass charge a felony is human trafficking/smuggling. But, trafficking is defined as aiding ANYONE into the country. So, let's say that you are in your car and you have your cousins with you and they are not legal. Not only are you guilty of trespass, you are also guilty of human trafficking/smuggling. Mandatory class 2 felony, no parole, no probation, no plea bargain. And after you do your five years hard time you get deported.
The thing that most people don't realize is that the trespass clause is a STATE law, not a federal law, so Arizona gets to punish you before they are obligated to turn you over to INS/ICE.
This "victory" that the pro illegal immigration lobby is celebrating is hollow. This law has real teeth. The pro illegal immigration crowd has been had.
The opponents of the immigration bill are celebrating too soon. I think they were had. I think that the AZ legislature put things in the bill that they didn't much care about knowing that those things would be challenged.
I didn't understand why illegals were getting out of AZ as fast they can at first, but after reading the bill, now I understand it.
If you get arrested under this bill your life is over. You won't be deported. Well, not at first. Let me just describe the BEST CASE scenario for someone who is arrested under this bill.
One section of the bill makes it a crime for a person to be in Arizona without legal status. The actual crime is trespass. That doesn't sound like a big deal, trespass is usually more or less a civil matter. Oh, and the bill defines trespass as being on any private or public property without proper documentation as to your legal status. That means anywhere in AZ.
So, a person is arrested under this law and charged with criminal trespass. One thing you have to understand about this law, all sentences are mandatory, there is no probation or parole allowed. For the trespass there is an automatic $500 fine plus jail time, let's say 30 days. It doesn't stop there though. There are mitigating circumstances that can make the trespass a class 4 felony. That's right, a class 4 felony. That is two and a half years mandatory sentence. Let's say that this person doesn't fall into that category and pays their $500 fine and serves their (mandatory) 30 day sentence. Now they are turned over to ICE/INS and deported. No big deal, the immigrant thinks, just come back in a few days.
Now the immigrant is caught again somehow (and this can be years later) and goes to court again. One of the circumstances that makes the trespass a class 4 felony is having been deported before for immigration violation. So, now the immigrant is facing a mandatory 2 1/2 year sentence plus a fine and they cannot be turned over to ICE/INS until AFTER they serve their sentence.
There are several mitigating circumstances that can make the criminal trespass a class 2 felony.
Basically if you are in Arizona and you do not have legal status and you get involved with the police somehow, your life is over, there is no probation, no parole, no appeal, no plea bargain. You are going to do jail time, pay fine, and then be deported, and if you get caught a second time, well give your family some pictures of yourself because they are not seeing you again for a LONG time.
One of the mitigating circumstances that can make your trespass charge a felony is human trafficking/smuggling. But, trafficking is defined as aiding ANYONE into the country. So, let's say that you are in your car and you have your cousins with you and they are not legal. Not only are you guilty of trespass, you are also guilty of human trafficking/smuggling. Mandatory class 2 felony, no parole, no probation, no plea bargain. And after you do your five years hard time you get deported.
The thing that most people don't realize is that the trespass clause is a STATE law, not a federal law, so Arizona gets to punish you before they are obligated to turn you over to INS/ICE.
This "victory" that the pro illegal immigration lobby is celebrating is hollow. This law has real teeth. The pro illegal immigration crowd has been had.
Judge placed injunction on the section 'requiring' LEOs to inquire on immigration status...not banning them from it. Also merely said they aren't 'required to carry papers'....so thats no biggie seeing as how if they dont have any documents...the cops still have to figure out who they are...so...the process continues. 
2.5 years in jail for trespassing
