The Arizona Senate is moving a bill through the Legislature that would make it a misdemeanor to alert someone of law enforcement operations.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican John Kavanagh, says anti-ICE activists in Minneapolis who used whistles to alert communities there inspired the measure.
"And this does not only apply to somebody who the ICE officers are going after. This could be regular police going after a murderer, a rapist, a child molester," Kavanagh said.
Opponents say the bill violates free speech and would only empower violent ICE agents who they say have endangered the public.
The bill is one step away from going to the House floor.
More Immigration News
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The Department of Justice filed suit against Arizona's law at the end of August. Legal filings against the remaining laws — in Hawaii, D.C., Arkansas and Utah — were filed this month, bringing the total number of tuition-related suits to 25. -
More than 30,000 refugees, asylees and other legally present immigrants in Arizona could lose health coverage in a few weeks as new Medicaid eligibility rules take effect. -
More than two decades ago, the 9/11 terror attacks touched every aspect of life in America — including for newcomers, who were in the midst of immigration processes, like seeking U.S. citizenship. -
The class consists of about 30 immigrants protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. -
The group says that’s in response to comments from Trump administration officials like Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin — who told reporters earlier this month that ICE isn’t planning operations targeting polling locations, but that agents could be sent to address a "specific threats."
