Arizona Republicans propose legalizing the murder of immigrants who pass through their ranches |

A bill that seeks to make it legal to kill immigrants if they trespass on private property is advancing through the Arizona Congress, controlled by the Republican Party. The controversial rule modifies an existing law, known as the Castle doctrine, and justifies the use of lethal force against anyone who invades land, property or home. The state’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, has promised to veto the law if it is approved by the state Senate.

House Bill 2843 (HB 2843) wants to expand the rights of Arizona landowners in the face of the increase in migrants from Mexico. The Castle doctrine allows the use of deadly force against anyone who invades property or has the criminal intent to do so. As written now, the law requires the abuser to also be in a structure “adapted for the residence or accommodation of a person,” regardless of whether the person is occupied or not. That is, enter a home.

Republican legislator Justin Heap wants to open the interpretation of the doctrine. His proposal is to modify a handful of words in the original text to make it more permissive to the use of force. In italics, the proposed changes: “For the purpose of this sectionpossessions mean any property o structure, mobile or immobile, permanent or temporary, adapted to whether it’s as residence o accommodation, whether occupied or not.”

“If a farmer owns a 4,000-hectare ranch, maybe his house is two kilometers from where he is, but if he sees someone on his property, can he approach him and throw him off his property? I propose an amendment to be able to correct this,” Heap assured the members of the Judicial Committee on February 14. The representative from Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix, said the goal of his proposal was to correct a loophole in the law that has led to a “growing number of immigrants and human traffickers moving through ranches and farms.”

Last week, the Lower House of the local Congress voted on a series of harsh measures to stop the migratory flow that reaches the border state. Democratic legislators have considered that the rules approved by the Republican majority are based on the controversial SB 1070, a controversial rule that criminalized undocumented immigrants in 2010 and was later rescinded after several federal judicial appeals.

“We keep talking about the migrants who are flooding our country as if they were agricultural workers from Guatemala looking for a better life.” […] when what is happening on the southern border is a humanitarian crisis,” Heaps said in Congress last week. The congressman assured that immigrants from Senegal, Bangladesh and China are arriving in the area.

Heaps’ proposal, however, comes days before Arizona courts hold a trial that will gain national attention. George Alan Kelly, a 73-year-old rancher, will be in the dock March 21 charged with second-degree murder. In January 2023, Kelly shot a group of migrants crossing his ranch on the outskirts of Nogales. Gabriel Cuen Buitimea, 48, died in the incident.

Radical and far-right sectors consider Kelly a hero who defended American territory from an invasion. Prosecutors, however, argue that Kelly was motivated by racism. The process was going to take place last year, but a series of motions in the courts postponed it until this spring, where it will take place in the middle of the electoral campaign where immigration from Mexico is one of the highest concerns of the citizens. voters.

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