Arizona Republicans propose legalizing the killing of immigrants who pass through their fields | International

A bill that seeks to legalize the killing of immigrants if they trespass on private property is moving through the Republican-controlled Arizona Congress. The controversial rule changes existing law, known as the Castle Doctrine, and justifies the use of deadly force against anyone who invades land, property or a home. The state’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, has vowed to veto the legislation if it is approved by the state Senate.

House Bill 2843 (HB 2843) seeks to expand the rights of Arizona landowners in the face of increased immigration from Mexico. The Castle Doctrine allows the use of deadly force against anyone who trespasses on property or has the criminal intent to do so. As currently written, the law requires the abuser to be in a structure “suitable for the person’s residence or accommodation,” whether or not the person occupies it. ie enter the house.

Republican legislator Justin Heap wants to open up the interpretation of the doctrine. His proposal is to modify a handful of words in the original text to make it more permissive for the use of force. Proposed changes in italics: “For the purpose of this sectionAssets means any property either Structure, mobile or fixed, permanent or temporary, adapted is that As a residence either dwelling, whether occupied or not.”

“If a farmer owns a farm of 4,000 hectares, his house may be two kilometers from where he is, but if he sees someone on his property, can he go to him and throw him off his property? I’m proposing an amendment to be able to correct this,” Heap assured members of the Judiciary Committee on February 14. The representative from Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix, said the goal of his proposal was to fix a loophole in the law that allowed “increasing numbers of immigrants and human traffickers who moving through fields and fields.”

Last week, the lower house of the local Congress voted on a series of draconian measures to stem the flow of migrants reaching the border state. Democratic lawmakers thought the rules approved by the Republican majority were based on controversial SB 1070, a controversial rule that criminalized undocumented immigrants in 2010 and was later overturned after several federal judicial appeals.

“We continue to talk about the migrants who are flooding into our country as if they are Guatemalan agricultural workers looking for a better life (…) when what is happening on the southern border is a humanitarian crisis,” Heaps last told Congress. Week .. Congress confirmed that immigrants from Senegal, Bangladesh and China are coming to the area.

The pile-up motion, however, comes days before Arizona courts hold a trial that will garner national attention. George Allen Kelly, a 73-year-old rancher, will be charged March 21 with second-degree murder. In January 2023, Kelly shot a group of migrants passing through his ranch on the outskirts of Nogales. 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen Butimea died in the incident.

Radical and far-right circles consider Kelly a hero who defended American territory from invasion. However, prosecutors argue that Kelly was motivated by racism. The process was supposed to take place last year, but a series of motions in the courts delayed it until this spring, when it will take place in the middle of an election campaign where immigration from Mexico is one of the top concerns of citizens. voters

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