page_title: Kyrsten Sinema
section_title: Immigration
hierarchical_section_title: Kyrsten Sinema / Political positions / Immigration
caption_attribution_description: English: Arizona State Representative Kyrsten Sinema protesting against SB1070
context_page_description: Kyrsten Lea Sinema is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator for Arizona since January 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as a state representative for Arizona's 15th legislative district from 2005 to 2011, one term as the state senator for Arizona's 15th legislative district from 2011 to 2012, and three terms as the United States Representative for Arizona's 9th congressional district from 2013 to 2019.
  Sinema began her political career in the Arizona Green Party before joining the Arizona Democratic Party in 2004. She rose to prominence for her advocacy of LGBT rights and same-sex marriage in Arizona. She won the 2012 United States House of Representatives election in Arizona's 9th congressional district. After her election to the United States Congress, she joined the centrist Blue Dog Coalition and the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and amassed a moderate voting record. She won the 2018 United States Senate election in Arizona to replace the retiring Jeff Flake, defeating Republican nominee Martha McSally.
  As an openly bisexual woman, Sinema has made history several times through her electoral success.
context_section_description: Sinema co-sponsored the Southwest Border Security Threat Assessment Act (H.R. 4482), a bill that calls for border threat analysis of terrorism, smuggling, and human trafficking every five years.
  Sinema was one of 24 House Democrats to vote in favor of Kate's Law, a bill that would expand maximum sentences for foreigners who attempt to reenter the country, legally or illegally, after having been deported, denied entry or removed, and for foreign felons who attempt to reenter the country.
  Sinema voted for the SAFE Act, which expanded the refugee screening process to require signatures from the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Director of National Intelligence for each refugee entering the country.
  Sinema opposed Arizona SB 1070. She has argued that mass deportation of undocumented immigrants is not an option and supported the DREAM Act. Her 2012 campaign website stated that "we need to create a tough but fair path to citizenship for undocumented workers that requires them to get right with the law by paying back taxes, paying a fine and learning English as a condition of gaining citizenship." In July 2018 she broke with her party by voting with Republicans against abolishing ICE.
  The Federation for American Immigration Reform, a PAC that seeks to limit both legal and illegal immigration, gave Sinema a 33% rating in 2018, and UnidosUS, which supports a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, gave Sinema a score of 88% in 2014.
caption: Sinema, then a State Representative, attending a protest at the Arizona State Capitol on the day of the SB 1070's signing
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