AZMEX UPDATE 31-3-16

AZMEX UPDATE 31 MAR 2016

Note: In line with existing sentencing guidelines. BTW, they are illegal immigrant rights activists, as legal immigrants have no need for them.



Ariz. Gov. Doug Ducey signs bill enforcing longer sentences on convicted immigrants
ASSOCIATED PRESS |
March 31, 2016 @ 5:26 pm

http://ktar.com/story/992495/ariz-gov-doug-ducey-signs-bill-enforcing-longer-sentences-on-convicted-immigrants/

PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill Thursday that would require some immigrants who are in the country illegally and convicted of crimes to serve longer sentences.

The Republican proposal is the first to hit the governor's desk in a series of immigration proposals introduced this session. The measure is a muted version of a similar bill backed by anti-illegal immigration Republicans that garnered national attention but has since lost traction.

Lawmakers have largely avoided legislating immigration since the 2010 law, SB 1070, sparked national controversy, led to a lengthy court fight and rattled the business community.

Ducey said the bill is about holding everyone to the same standard of justice.

"While some have tried to play politics with this law enforcement issue, the reality is this is a sensible public safety measure that ensures we have one justice system that applies to all," he said in a signing statement on the measure.

Rep. Darin Mitchell, R-Litchfield Park, sponsored House Bill 2451 that requires immigrants who are in the country illegally and are in prison to serve 85 percent of their sentences before they are released to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.

Most low- and mid-level felons are affected, while people convicted of murder and other serious felonies were never eligible for early release.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security policy directs federal immigration officials to prioritize the deportation of immigrants who are in the country illegally and have committed a felony in most cases.

Mitchell's proposal would repeal current law that allows federal immigration officials to pick up prisoners who entered in the country illegally after serving half of their sentence.

Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said current law unfairly allows immigrants who are in the country illegally to serve less time than other prisoners.

"The current law is an absurd law and this creates a terrible injustice in our system," Kavanagh said during a committee hearing on the bill.

Democratic Sen. Martin Quezada, D-Phoenix, said the measure could cost the state more money to incarcerate the affected prisoners for longer periods of time.

"This is another example of a bill where our zeal to be harsh on immigrants and criminals doesn't necessarily translate into good public policy," he said during a Senate vote.

Police arrested five immigrant-rights activists for trespassing after they chained themselves to the front entrance of the executive tower at the Capitol to demand that Ducey veto what protesters call anti-immigrant legislation on Wednesday.

Organizing director for Puente Francisca Porchas said about 30 protesters took over the entrance.

"We want to send a very strong message to the governor that we are not going to allow this kind of legislation to become law in this state," Porchas said.

Earlier in the legislative session, Sen. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa, sponsored a bill that would essentially make it impossible for immigrants in the country illegally to receive any leniency in the courts when they commit serious crimes.

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Suspected smugglers caught on video scaling US border fence
ASSOCIATED PRESS |
March 31, 2016 @ 4:23 pm

http://ktar.com/story/992440/suspected-smugglers-caught-on-video-scaling-us-border-fence/

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A Mexican journalist got the scoop of a lifetime when she spotted two suspected drug smugglers scaling a tall border fence from Mexico into the U.S. and then promptly climbing back after they realized they were being filmed.

Journalist Carolina Rocha of Azteca Noticias in Mexico City was in Nogales, Arizona, reporting on the U.S. Border Patrol's use of force March 16 when she spotted two young men in black t-shirts and jeans climbing down the fence in daylight. Footage shows them carrying large backpacks that were likely holding drugs, walking while hunched over and then hiding behind some bushes and talking on what appears to be a phone before realizing the camera was recording.

"Don't record," one of the men says.

But Rocha was already rolling and not willing to stop. She told the men she was just doing her job.
"It was shocking. This is happening in front of me? And we didn't' stop recording," Rocha said in Spanish during an interview with The Associated Press.

The cameras rolled for about three minutes before the men climbed back up the fence and returned to Mexico.

Rocha said she was stunned at how quickly they scaled the fence, which is over 20 feet high. The men were gone within seconds.

She was also struck by the fact that there were three U.S. Border Patrol trucks within yards of the incident. No agents approached the men.

Border Patrol spokesman Mark Landess said it's not uncommon for smugglers to scale the steel fence, especially around Nogales, which is a busy drug smuggling corridor.

Landess said it's impossible to know why the agents didn't respond or whether they even saw the men.
"They might be waiting for something else to happen. There's no way to make an educated comment on that," Landess said.

END