Undocumented Immigrants Rights News: New Arizona Bill Would Criminalize Use Of Public Roads, Schools

Arizona state representative Carl Seel has introduced a new bill to the state Assembly which would make it a misdemeanor for some undocumented immigrants to use public resources – including “driving on a public road or highway, accepting any public benefit, attending a public school or using the services of any public entity” in the state. Arizona’s KTAR notes that Seel recently told a local radio program that the bill’s intent has been misconstrued, saying it only applied “to people who have had their day in court.”

"In other words,” he said, “if you were here illegally and you were driving recklessly and you got arrested for it…and you had your day in court and thereafter, you could not show that you were legally here and you overstayed your court orders." The text of the bill says it would apply to those present in the state in violation of “any regulation, statute, or court order or any other operation of law” which either determined that a person is not lawfully present or which precludes them from lawfully entering or remaining there. “It's extremely broad, and it's clearly unconstitutional if it would lead to harassment of people of color,” said Alessandra Soler, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona, in a statement to an ABC News affiliate. “This bill would create even more problems of racial profiling then we’re currently seeing,” she said.

KSAZ, a Phoenix Fox affiliate, notes that Seel has in the past co-sponsored a bill requiring President Obama and presidential candidates to prove that they’re US citizens. The state representative downplayed the odds that his new bill would be passed in an interview with the station. "I mean, I got to be honest with you, a bill like this probably won't get a hearing. Not to say this bill shouldn't be heard, I just think given how fast we're moving this session, I don't know we'll have time to hear this," he said.