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Senate approves substitute House Bill 64 to create immigration enforcement strike force; heated debate on crime data
Summary
The Senate passed a substituted House Bill 64 to create a strike force administered through the attorney general to address serious criminal offenders regardless of immigration status. Floor debate included contested statistics on incarceration rates of undocumented persons and a failed amendment to narrow definitions.
Senator Jenkins presented first substitute House Bill 64 on March 11, 2009, which would establish a strike force to coordinate with federal immigration enforcement and to provide tools for identifying and removing serious criminal offenders. He described the measure as the final product from an interim immigration task force and said it would be run through the Attorney General's office.
"This is our last bill that came out of the immigration task force from this summer," Jenkins said, urging senators to support the measure. He moved the substitute and explained the technical and enforcement changes it includes.
Senator Romero pressed a substantive correction in the debate, citing Bureau of Research and Planning figures from the Department of Corrections that show the percentage of incarcerated persons identified as aliens fluctuated between about 4.77% and 5.25% between February 2002 and February 2008. He argued those figures do not support a generalization that undocumented persons commit higher levels of crime. Other senators said they had heard conflicting data in interim hearings. An amendment to define and narrow the list of "serious offenders" failed on the floor.
Supporters said the bill targeted violent offenders and provided state tools where federal enforcement was perceived as insufficient. Opponents sought clearer definitions and assurances about due process and data accuracy.
After debate the Senate passed First Substitute House Bill 64 by a roll-call vote of 28 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent. The bill was returned to the House for further action.
