BIRTHRIGHT

Arizona Senate Defeats 5 Anti-Immigration Bills

Would have changed the definition of U.S. citizenship.

The Arizona Senate Thursday defeated five bills that were aimed at both illegal and legal immigration, including one that would make children citizens of Arizona only if at least one of their parents was either a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident. The other four bills would have barred illegal immigrants from state universities, made it illegal for illegal immigrants to drive in the state, required legal status checks by schools, and required hospitals to check the legal status of their patients. Democrats voted against all the bills, while Republicans’ votes were mixed. Senate President Russell Pearce, who authored the bill last year that allowed random citizens to be checked by police, said “America is on our side” in the anti-immigration bills, and he said he might “resurrect” them or take them to voters.