Immigration

This Arizona bill requires law enforcement to verify the immigration status of individuals arrested for non-immigration offenses when there is reasonable suspicion they are unlawfully present in the U.S. It mandates checking status via federal systems (per 8 U.S.C. § 1373(c)) before release and immediately notifying ICE if someone is arrested or convicted for a state/local offense while unlawfully present. Individuals presenting valid Arizona driver’s licenses, tribal IDs, or other official government IDs are presumed lawful. The law prohibits race-based profiling and permits sharing immigration status information with federal agencies for specific purposes like public benefits verification.

SB 1031 repeals several Arizona statutes related to immigration enforcement and law enforcement procedures. It removes provisions including Title 11, Chapter 7, Article 8 (which governed immigration-related law enforcement), Section 13-1509, and specific sections of smuggling and border security laws (like Sections 13-2319 and 13-2928). The bill directly affects law enforcement agencies that previously used these statutes to address immigration-related offenses. This is a procedural repeal with no new provisions or funding mechanisms, solely eliminating existing legal frameworks.

SB 1051 requires hospitals that accept state health program payments to add a question on patient registration forms asking about immigration status (citizen, lawfully present, not lawfully present, or declined to answer). The form must include a clear statement that responses won’t affect care or be shared with immigration authorities. Hospitals must submit quarterly reports to the state health department tracking these status categories for all admissions and emergency visits. The department then compiles an annual report for lawmakers, detailing total patient visits by category and analyzing costs of care provided to undocumented patients, including impacts on hospital funding and service capacity.

SCR 1001 proposes an Arizona constitutional amendment that would require U.S. citizenship for voting, ban foreign campaign contributions, and mandate government-issued ID at polling places. It sets specific voting rules: early voting must end by 7:00 PM Friday before general elections, and voters must show ID to cast a ballot. Qualified voters with citizenship proof would be offered mail-in ballots upon request, while in-person voting on election day would remain available. This amendment, if approved by voters, would become "The Arizona Secure Elections Act" and would affect all Arizona voters and election campaigns.