A contentious Arizona bill that could land someone in jail for tipping off a friend, neighbor, or family member that law enforcement is on their way is advancing through the state legislature, and the debate over it has been anything but quiet.
Senate Bill 1635, introduced by Senator John Kavanagh (R-AZ), has cleared the House and now awaits a final Senate vote. If signed into law, warning a specific person that officers are coming to arrest or detain them would become a Class 1 misdemeanor, carrying a penalty of up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Sen. Kavanagh, a former police officer, said the bill grew out of a real incident, after Senator Analise Ortiz (D-AZ) publicly posted the location of ICE agents operating in her Phoenix neighborhood.
An earlier version of his proposal was broad enough to cover that kind of activity, but Kavanagh admitted it wouldn't have survived a First Amendment challenge, so he scaled it back.
The version now moving through the legislature targets only those who knowingly alert a specific individual that law enforcement is coming for them.
He drew a clear line as the Arizona Daily Star reported: "If police get out of the car and said, 'All right, let's serve this warrant on Joe Blow,' and you quickly walk to the backyard where you know he is barbecuing and said, 'ICE is here to get you,' then it would be illegal."
However, democrats aren't buying it.
What Democrats are Saying
Representative Nancy Gutierrez (D-AZ) warned that the bill's sweeping definitions, covering verbal warnings, gestures, written messages, and electronic communications, leave far too much room for abuse.
She painted a vivid picture: a neighbor who applied for asylum, followed every rule, and is still being swept up by ICE on the way to an immigration hearing.
"I go to that neighbor and say, 'Hey, ICE is coming to our neighborhood', then I can be arrested for that?" she asked.
House Minority Leader Oscar De Los Santos (D-AZ) piled on, calling out vague terms like "interference" and "assisting" as poorly defined and ripe for misuse.
"And my fear is that, because of the poor draftsmanship of the bill, it is not only unconstitutional but potentially you could have a case where somebody could be arrested or charged with crimes simply for going around and educating their community about their rights,” he said.
Kavanagh built in a severability clause, a legal safety net ensuring that if a court strikes part of the law down, the rest survives. Now with a final House vote and Senate consideration still ahead, the fight over this bill is far from over.
