Arizona Immigration Law Altered by Subsequent Legislation

The Arizona Daily Star reports that several days after S.B. 1070, Arizona’s controversial immigration bill, became law, the legislature passed H.B. 2162, which clarifies when police officers may inquire into an individual’s immigration status. Under H.B. 2162, an inquiry can occur if:

• an officer performs a lawful stop, detention or arrest based on a town, city, county or state law; and
• the officer has reasonable suspicion that a person is an alien and is unlawfully present in the United States.

The language in H.B. 2162 does not amend S.B. 1070; however, when S.B. 1070 takes effect, the revised language in H.B. 2162 will take precedence because it was adopted more recently.