A House panel voted Thursday to strip all state funds from cities and counties that the attorney general determines offer "sanctuary'' to people not in this country legally.
In 2010 the Legislature adopted SB 1070 aimed at illegal immigration. While many provisions have since been struck down, a key one remains. It requires police who have stopped anyone for any reason to make a reasonable attempt to determine that person's immigration status. Rep. Jay Lawrence, R-Fountain Hills, said he believes some cities are not complying.
And he is specifically targeting a move by the city of Phoenix to create ID cards that would be available to all residents, regardless of their legal status. So Lawrence wants to get their attention by taking away their state shared revenues. He said cities that obey the laws have nothing to fear.
"There are laws in the state of Arizona. And as long as there is adherence to those laws, I have no problem with any city at all," he said.
The legislation would require the attorney general to determine which cities are not complying and give them 90 days to get their act together. And if they do not, then their flow of state revenues would dry up until they changed their ways. The measure now goes to the full House.