Arizona Anti-Immigrant Sentiment Lands in the Heartland: HB2372

(Spanish version of article can be found here. Version en español se puede encontrar aquí)

What we long knew was coming, the Arizona SB1070 copycat bill, has arrived at the Heartland’s doorstep.  On Friday, March 5, HB2372 was introduced into the House of the Kansas Legislature and, make no mistake, it comes in a heavy, hate-filled, 11-page package. Not including amendments. Of course.

No lie, I began to feel physically ill as I read through the bill. But, I’ll save you some time – and give you a hefty load of links to view through if you have time – and break it down as follows:

• Section 1: Requires that all State and City governments, as well as contractors and subcontractors, use E-Verify, a federal employment eligibility verification program used by the Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the Social Security Administration.
• Section 2: Mandates law enforcement officers to attempt to determine the citizenship and immigration status of a person if “reasonable suspicion” exists. Basically, if the officer believes you’re undocumented, such officer has NO choice but to verify your status. Meaning, you would be hauled off to jailed and kept there, at the expense of taxpayers, until your status is verified.
  Now, now, don’t go getting upset and call this racial profiling. It isn’t. Why? Because, as this sections also states,  ”a law enforcement officer may not consider race, color or national origin in implementing the requirements of this section.” Oh, please, what else are they going to use to establish aforementioned “reasonable suspicion?” Just sayin’.
• Section 3: Makes it a crime to harbor or transport anyone who is undocumented. The charge for this ranges from Class A misdemeanor to Level 8, Person Felony. Got a sick friend who’s undocumented and needs a ride to hospital? Don’t. Even. Think about taking them to hospital because, if you get pulled over, you can be charged with a crime. Are you a religious leader trying to help a family by taking them to the grocery store? Nope, you can’t do that in Kansas if this law passes. Let’s not forget our mixed-status families: do you have an undocumented family member living with you? Well, if this law passes, you’ll have to face the music and kick them out unless you want some legal problems on your hand.
• Section 5: Makes it against the law for undocumented individuals to receive public benefits. This includes but is not limited to: “any grant, contract, loan or commercial or professional license provided by an agency of state or local government, or any retirement, welfare, health, disability, housing, food assistance or unemployment benefit.” Let’s be clear here, most of these programs already require verification of citizenship. Redundancy and waste of tax-payer dollars anyone?
• Section 6: Makes it a crime to forget to carry your immigration documentation. You know, those really-valuable-and-if-they’re-lost-really-hard-to-get-back documents that state you’re legally present in the State – yeah, you have to carry those with you. At. All. Times. Unless you want get a Class C misdemeanor and a fine, that is.
• And, just to cover our bases if the State of Kansas gets sued by the federal government – much like Arizona’s SB1070 - Section 7 states: If any Sections of this bill are found to be unconstitutional, only those specific sections found to be unconstitutional will be stricken from the law and all other sections will remain intact and valid.
• Section 8: Makes selling falsified identification a felony.
• The coup de grâce, in case the above left you wanting for more, Section 9 states that any person charged with a crime will be checked for immigration status  - which, in case you didn’t know, has been happening in Kansas for quite some time now – and if verified [to be undocumented] will be presumed to be at risk of flight. Again, mixed-status families or friends (knowing or unknowing) of the undocumented, prepare not to see your loved one if they’re detained because ”flight risks” can be kept in custody without the possibility of bonding out.

WHAT’S NEXT:

From here on out, the countdown begins. HB2372 has been referred to the Committee on Federal and State Affairs. Same committee which held a hearing and passed the repeal of In-State Tuition (HB2006) a couple of weeks ago. (HB2006 is currently in the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs awaiting a possible hearing. More info on how you can get involved is here.) The next step for HB2372 is a hearing which is scheduled to occur Thursday, March 10.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

A host of other organizations - religious, student, business – are working furiously to stop this bill in its tracks but we can’t do it alone. We need YOUR help. Here are some steps you can take:

• Come to the Kansas is Stronger Together Coalition meeting, Monday, March 14. Information can be found here.
• Stay informed through these sites: KSMODA Facebook, Latino Informational Network of Kansas (L.I.N.K.), M.I.R.A. KC Chapter.
• If in Kansas, contact your legislator. Via phone, you can call 1-800-432-3924 and ask for your representative. You can also find your legislator online, by entering some of your information, here: http://www.ipsr.ku.edu/ksdata/vote/
• If not in Kansas, you can contact the members of the Committee on Judiciary and, in solidarity with Kansans, ask that they oppose HB2372. If asked whether or not you’re a constituent, don’t lie and say that you are, but do state that as a concerned member of our country, this is not what we stand for.
• Contact us directly to get involved: http://ksmoda.org/contact-us/

We are running on very limited and very valuable time. Don’t just sit there reading this. Go! Do something to stop HB2372!

Print PDF

Tags: Arizona, hb2372, immigration, Kansas, Kansas Legislature, sb1070