Team,

The Arizona state legislative session began on January 12th, and Republicans immediately reintroduced bills requiring hospitals to collect patient immigration data.

SB 1051 and HB 2689:

• Force any hospital accepting AHCCCS (Medicaid) to ask patients during intake whether they're a U.S. citizen, lawfully present, or undocumented
• Sponsored by Senator Wendy Rogers and Representative Ralph Heap
• Passed through committees on party-line votes in late January
• Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a similar version last session and is expected to veto these, too

Republicans call these "transparency measures" to calculate healthcare costs for undocumented immigrants.

Democrats call it what it is: weaponizing healthcare to scare people away from emergency rooms for fear of deportation.

The bills claim responding is voluntary and won't affect care. But when people are afraid to seek medical treatment because they'll be asked about immigration status, that's not voluntary — that's intimidation.

And aggregated data can still be used to target facilities or communities for ICE enforcement.

Chip in to support Democrats fighting back against Republicans weaponizing healthcare.

Every dollar helps us organize opposition to bills like SB 1051 and HB 2689. It helps us support Governor Hobbs as she vetoes extremist legislation. It helps us register voters and build infrastructure to flip competitive seats.

Republicans are hoping you're not paying attention. We're making sure everyone notices.

Thanks for standing with us,

AZ Dems