A Republican senator, fed up over reports of the courts seeming inconsistency to enforce a 2006 ballot initiative dealing with illegal immigration, has secured a commitment from Senate leadership that the issue will be tackled this session.
Proposition 100, approved by voters last November, requires the denial of bail for illegal immigrants accused of serious offenses. But there have been reports of courts setting bond for illegal immigrants anyway.
One case involved an undocumented resident accused of killing a man after getting deported, even when he was initially charged with assaulting and forcing his girlfriend into a car. In another case, an illegal immigrant was accused of drunk driving and killing a Valley man as a result.
Sen. Linda Gray, R-10, along with several other lawmakers, expressed outrage that bonds were set in these cases, contravening the initiative that was overwhelmingly approved.
Gray proposed an amendment to one of the budget bills on May 16 to include language that she said would help more clearly clarify Prop. 100 for the courts and remove its perceived ambiguities.
The amendment was not pre-approved by leadership, and as such, failed.
On the floor, Gray pressed Senate President Tim Bee and Majority Leader Thayer Verschoor for a commitment to deal with the problem this year. She promptly got it.
Bee later told reporters, “My commitment to her was to provide an opportunity for that bill to be heard in a committee before the session closes down. Right now the only way a committee can hear that bill is with my permission and I will be giving the permission for a committee to hear that bill.”
Majority Whip John Huppenthal said Gray had made a compelling argument and said he would work to ensure that the issue is addressed.
Her amendment was in response to a call by Arizona Supreme Court Justice Ruth McGregor for a clarifying language, according to Gray.
McGregor had written a letter addressing several reasons for the perceived wavering application of Prop. 100, including criminal statute ambiguities relating to which types of defendants are entitled to bail, a lack of available information for judicial officers, and “logistical issues” such as time sensitive indictments being placed in large stacks of paperwork.
“Her recommendation is what the amendment is all about,” Gray said.
The amendment requires the police to ask a person’s immigration status within 24 hours of an arrest and to send that information to the court and the prosecutor for the purpose of determining whether the defendant is eligible to post bail.
Also, the determination of whether a defendant can post bail must be made at the initial appearance.
The amendment also requires courts to consider the following points when determining probable cause that the person is in the country illegally:
• Whether that person is under an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hold order.
• Whether a law enforcement agency has indicated that the person is in the U.S. illegally.
• Whether the person has made an admission that he or she is here illegally.
• Any evidence that the person has recently entered or remained in the U.S. illegally and other relevant information.
Gray already has a bill in mind that could carry the language of her failed amendment. The bill, S1265, is in the House.
She indicated, however, that she would wait for the House to advance its budget and offer only the striker if it ultimately falters. Gray said the House budget contains a language similar to her amendment.
“That’s another way of making sure it gets through. So if the House budget is approved, then it is their budget, and we can work from there,” she said.