Smith wants border fence, end to benefits for illegals

Maricopa resident and District 23 Senator Steve Smith has introduced several bills that he said will help reduce the financial strain illegal immigration puts on Arizona and curtail future illicit entry into the country.

“These bills are making national headlines,” Smith said. “Combined, they can save Arizonans hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.”

SB 1405-Hospitalization
Senate Bill 1405 requires hospital staff to confirm a person’s citizenship status either prior to admittance or during emergency or non-emergency treatment if they don’t have health insurance.

“It is no secret illegal immigrants are using our emergency rooms like their own personnel healthcare clinics,” Smith said. “It is about time someone did something about this.”

Smith added the bill would not result in hospitals denying service, but instead force hospital staff to keep a log of patients and report those who are not legal citizens.

“I simply want a person at the hospital to call law enforcement officials if they are treating an illegal immigrant,” Smith said. “To verify legality, all this bill asks for is a state ID, birth certificate, passport or a visa.”

The Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) strongly opposes the bill.

“This legislation would require hospitals to confirm the citizenship status of every patient being treated for emergency and non-emergency care, and could result in a lengthier hospital admissions process for all patients, including U.S. citizens. In addition, all hospital patients would be required to carry proof of insurance or documentation acceptable for citizenship verification, placing an undue burden on ill and injured patients,” said Laurie Liles, AzHHA president and chief director.

If the bill passes, Smith said any hospital that does not comply would put itself in danger of losing its license to operate in Arizona.

SB 1407-Education
Senate Bill 1407 requires the Arizona Department of Education to collect data from school districts on populations of students who are enrolled and who cannot prove lawful residence in the United States.

“This is a huge issue facing our border towns,” Smith said. “People who are not Arizona residents are getting an education paid for by the state. I just want schools to confirm their students live in the city they serve.”

In addition to data collection, Smith’s bill calls for research on the  impact of students who cannot provide proof of lawful residence and a detailed estimate of the total cost to taxpayers for the education of students who are not Arizona citizens.

SB 1409-Election Materials
Senate Bill 1409 amends state policy to require Arizona Citizens Clean Election Commission information pamphlets to be mailed in English only.

Clean Elections pamphlets are the hefty booklets mailed to every Arizona resident during a statewide election that describe the issues and provide testimony from community members on ballot measures.

Currently these pamphlets come in both English and Spanish.

Smith said that by eliminating the Spanish portion of the pamphlet the state could save $1 million a year.

“I want to start with these clean elections pamphlets, but eventually I hope to expand it into all materials printed by the state,” Smith said.

Federal law requires that government literature is also available in Spanish, but to satisfy this requirement Smith said the English pamphlets would contain Spanish language notifications of where a pamphlet in Spanish or any other language could be picked up.

“We will have hard copies and online versions in Spanish, but the mailed versions will be English only,” he said.

SB 1406-Border Fence
While the above three bills aim to curtail services for people residing in Arizona illegally, Senate Bill 1406 is designed to prevent future illegal migration. It would allow the state to enter into an interstate compact to create a border fence along the Arizona-Mexico borderline.

“The fence in Yuma has decreased illegal immigration in that sector by 96 percent,” Smith said. “I would love to see this fence continue where that one ends.”

Smith said the bill would establish a private fund to which citizens could make donations to pay for construction of the fence.

Smith said the state would employ inmate labor at a cost of 50 cents an hour to construct the fence.

“The beauty of this plan is that it will cost the state very little,” Smith said.