An Arizona Senate hearing on an effort to enshrine an existing ban on “sanctuary cities” in the state constitution erupted in shouting and immigrant rights activists were removed after calling the proposal racist.
The measure brought warnings from Democrats about the return to “one of the darkest years in Arizona history” referencing the 2010 crackdown on illegal immigration in a law known as SB1070.
Parts of that law were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Republican Sen. Sylvia Allen’s proposal to ask voters weigh in on the plan was approved along party lines.
