What Part of Unconstitutional Doesn't Arizona Understand?

The Arizona legislature continues to crank out anti-immigrant bills at a prolific rate. Here is a roundup of some of the latest lowlights with analysis below:

SB 1308 and SB 1309: Proposed as a challenge to the birthright citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

SB 1405: Requiring hospital employees to report anyone who seeks the use of an emergency room and cannot prove that they are in-country legally.

SB 1407: Requires schools to count children who cannot prove they are lawfully present in the country and report to state authorities.

SB 1611: Mandates that those convicted of "aggravated" theft of another's identity, which includes those who take the identity of a fictitious person invented only to obtain employment, serve six months in jail, even if the judge sentences them to probation. SB 1611 also makes it a crime for those unlawfully present to drive in Arizona, which leads to a minimum jail sentence of 30 days. [The fact that these bills would produce a huge spike in tax-payer funded incarceration of non-violent offenders is presumably not a great concern for some corporations who are heavy political donors to those crafting the legislation.].

SB 1611 also requires schools to require proof of citizenship or legal immigration status (purportedly to aid in the counting required in SB 1407). If a child does not produce documents, SB 1611 requires that the school refer the case to local law enforcement.

While there is much to criticize in the details of this bevy of anti-immigrant legislation [trying to check the immigration papers of people being rushed into the emergency room... really?], a general point of concern is the Arizona legislature's apparent indifference for the Constitution of the United States. Those who are trumpeting this legislation as necessary to enforce "the rule of law" do so while thumbing their noses at the foundational document of our legal system.

The 14th Amendment of the Constitution requires that children, even those without immigration status, have access to K-12 public education. Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982). The drafters of SB 1407 and SB 1611 are well aware of Plyler, but persist in choosing to propose legislation which has the very thinly veiled goal of keeping undocumented children out of public schools. They can still enroll, but their case will be turned over to local law enforcement when they cannot produce papers. Arizona local law enforcement, would then have reasonable suspicion about the family's immigration status and have to investigate under Arizona law and turn over the family for deportation proceedings. The takeaway is therefore, "Enroll your kids in school as guaranteed by the Constitution and we will use that information to deport you." The purpose of this legislation is to keep undocumented kids out of public schools despite it being well-settled law that the Constitution guarantees these children access to public education.

This should give us pause: Do the Arizona legislators swear to uphold the Constitution before beginning their public service? If so, how do they square that oath and commitment with their proposals for legislation that they know is undoubtedly unconstitutional?

Fact Sheet for SB 1407

Fact Sheet for SB 1611

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