A Senate committee has advanced a measure barring judges from giving sentencing breaks to immigrants in the country illegally and making them ineligible for parole.
Republican Sen. Steve Smith sponsored a similar bill last year that requiring judges to sentence people to the presumptive term in jail or prison when they've already violated immigration laws. This year's bill only applies to felonies.
Testifying before the committee Monday were the parents of two men killed by immigrants. Both urged the committee to adopt "Grant's Law." The name comes from Grant Ronnebeck, a Mesa retail clerk killed by a person in the country illegally.
An American Civil Liberties Union lawyer testified that singling out immigrants for tougher sentences was likely unconstitutional.
The panel approved Senate Bill 1279 on 5-3 party-line vote.
