PHOENIX — Republican legislative leaders are moving to use taxpayer funds to pay the legal fees of current and former lawmakers whose personal emails have been subpoenaed in the ongoing legal fight over a 2010 immigration law.
Senate President Andy Biggs said groups challenging SB 1070 are on a “fishing expedition’’ in an attempt to prove the law was motivated by racial hatred.
But Biggs, who is an attorney, said just because the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund wants the records does not mean it is entitled to them. He called the subpoenas “pure harassment.’’
And Biggs said it’s unfair to make those subpoenaed use their own money, particularly as the issue relates to their work as legislators.
At this point the proposal is to spend $100,000 to fight the subpoenas.
SB 1070 was designed to provide police more power to detain and question those suspected of being in this country illegally. Proponents, led by former state Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, said the failure of the federal government to fight illegal immigration forced Arizona to step up.
Some sections of the law have been declared illegal by federal courts. But the U.S. Supreme Court refused to void a section which requires police to question people they have stopped about their immigration status if they have reason to believe they are in this country illegally.
The justices, however, left the door open for future challenges based on new evidence.
Challengers are now hoping to prove that SB 1070 has less to do with illegal immigration and more with discrimination. Subpoenas have requested emails with certain words, like “alien,’’ “illegals,’’ “Mexican,’’ “wetback,’’ and “undocumented.’’
Victor Viramontes, senior counsel for MALDEF, said the comments legislators were making around the time SB 1070 was adopted are relevant .
“Pearce, for example, was using his personal email to make comments about Latinos in reference to 1070 and in reference to Latinos generally,’’ he said.
Senate Majority Whip Adam Driggs said the current and former lawmakers should not simply turn over their emails.
“Just because somebody asks for something doesn’t mean they have the legal right to it,’’ he said. “That’s why you need an attorney to determine if this is a lawful subpoena or not or if this is just an entity that’s harassing you and making you go through everything you have going back 10 years.’’
And Driggs said there’s a particular concern for those who are not currently in the House or Senate, and do not have the benefit of in-house legal counsel, who should not have to spend their own money to defend against something that happened while they were in office.
Even more unfair, Biggs said, is some of those whose emails have been subpoenaed were not even in the Legislature when SB 1070 was approved.
Driggs said the subpoenas are overly broad. For example, he said the subpoenas include requests for emails with the word “English.’’
But Viramontes said the request is justified because, “Language is so closely related to discrimination against Latinos.’’
Driggs also said he believes the challengers are grasping at straws. He said he “seriously doubts” evidence of racial discrimination exists.
