Republican state lawmaker requests investigation into legality of Phoenix’s new ICE policy

PHOENIX – A Republican state lawmaker wants the Arizona Attorney General’s Office to investigate the city of Phoenix’s new policy on federal immigration enforcement activities.

Last week, the Phoenix City Council adopted an administrative regulation to block civil law enforcement activities on property owned and controlled by the city without prior authorization. The policy was developed as a response to community concerns about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.

However, Rep. Quang Nguyen of Prescott Valley doesn’t think the regulation is legal, so he submitted what is known as an SB1487 complaint to the Attorney General’s Office on Monday.

Under state law, members of the Legislature can direct the Attorney General’s Office to investigate any ordinance, regulation or order from a county, city or town government to determine if it violates the Arizona Constitution.

If the Attorney General’s Office upholds an SB1487 complaint, the issuing entity has to repeal the disputed policy to avoid losing its share of state revenue.

Why is lawmaker questioning Phoenix policy on immigration enforcement

Nguyen, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, believes Phoenix’s new administrative regulation violates an Arizona statute that prohibits state and local governments from limiting or restricting federal immigration law enforcement.

“Phoenix crossed the line,” Nguyen said in a press release. “This policy does not simply decline to help. It puts city government in the position of controlling whether federal immigration enforcement can use public property to carry out operations. That is a restriction on enforcement, and Arizona law forbids it. No city gets to override state law, obstruct federal officers or turn immigration enforcement into a permission slip signed by the city manager.”

The Attorney General’s Office must provide a written report in response to SB1487 complaints within 30 days.

Related

Phoenix approves oversight of federal immigration enforcement in 8-1 voteTrump renews effort to limit birthright citizenship with scaled-back executive actionsArizona demands border payback, requesting nearly $1 billion from federal governmentNew website on Surprise ICE facility shows city still in the dark on key questionsRep. Adelita Grijalva responds to ICE detaining Tucson woman outside county courthouseYassamin Ansari calls for closure of Texas ICE detention center after oversight visit