Arizona House Republicans saying they are in full support of a bill that would make it illegal to enter the state through an illegal entry point, and Democrats are concerned about legal implications.
House Bill 2748 would make it a class 1 misdemeanor come into the state illegally, and it would go up to a class 6 felony if it happens multiple times. It would also ask that those in Arizona illegally leave or face a class 2 felony charge.
On Monday, it passed the House Military and Public Safety Committee in an 8-7 vote along party lines.
According to a news release, the bill is modeled after Texas Senate Bill 4. That legislation is dealing with a federal court battle, among other policies in Texas aimed at taking state action on the border crisis, Texas Public Radio reported.
“Under the Biden administration, the consistent refusal to enforce our nation’s federal immigration laws has led to an unprecedented surge of illegal immigration across our southern border, constituting a historic invasion," Rep. Joseph Chaplik, R-Scottsdale, said in a statement.
Critics has also said the legislation that harkens back to Senate Bill 1070, a controversial immigration bill that was signed into law by former Republican Gov. Jan Brewer in 2010 that later had some parts stripped by the United States Supreme Court, according to the Arizona Republic.
In addition, the bill would give state government workers and officials civil immunity for following the specific law. In it's legislative findings section, it says the Biden administration is guilty of "gross dereliction of duty" when it comes to the ongoing migrant surge at the southern border.
