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Bill requires immigrants to serve full sentences

Posted at 5:21 AM, Feb 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-03 07:21:53-05
A proposal barring judges from giving sentencing breaks to immigrants in the country illegally and making them ineligible for parole is set for a hearing in the Arizona Senate.
 
Republican Sen. Steve Smith says his proposal is designed to ensure that people who already broke immigration laws are penalized if they violate state laws.
 
Senate Bill 1377 requires that judges sentence people to the presumptive term in jail or prison for new crimes when they've already violated immigration laws.
 
Another bill by the Maricopa lawmaker would take state shared revenue from any municipality that enacts "sanctuary city" policies benefiting immigrants. That's already illegal in Arizona, but Smith wants penalties and put them in Senate Bill 1378.
 
Both are set for hearings Wednesday before a Senate committee Smith chairs.