PHOENIX— Legislation in Arizona that would impose new restrictions on financial services for immigrants in the country illegally advanced this week in the state House, with Senate Bill 1421 receiving a “do pass” recommendation from the House Commerce Committee on March 24, according to legislative records reported by the California Globe.
The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff) would bar financial institutions in Arizona from accepting certain forms of identification issued exclusively to unauthorized immigrants when opening accounts or providing services. It also would prohibit loans in cases where an application allows an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, to be used as the borrower’s identifying documentation, according to the California Globe’s report.
During committee testimony, Rogers said the measure is intended to limit access to remittances and banking services by people who are not U.S. citizens, framing it as a sovereignty issue tied to money flowing out of the country. In a post on X after the vote, Rogers said the House Commerce Committee had passed her bill “denying illegals banking AND sending of remittances out of the United States."
In addition to the banking restrictions, SB 1421 would require money transmitters to verify that a sender is not an unauthorized immigrant before completing a foreign remittance transfer, while also imposing reporting requirements, civil penalties and similar identification restrictions on check-cashing businesses. The measure previously cleared the Arizona Senate in February and now awaits further consideration in the Arizona House, according to the Globe.