By Spencer S. Hsu
Arizonas new crackdown on illegal immigration will increase crime in U.S. cities not reduce it by driving a wedge between police and immigrant communities police chiefs from Los Angeles Houston and Philadelphia said Tuesday. The new Arizona law will intimidate crime victims and witnesses who are illegal
immigrants and divert police from investigating more serious crimes the chiefs said.
This is not a law that increases public safety. This is a bill that makes it much harder for us to do our jobs Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said. Crime will go up if this becomes law in Arizona or in any other state.
The delegation was organized by the Police Executive Research Forum a membership organization of police chiefs that functions as an independent think tankin Washington. The groups meeting with Holder comes as 15 states are considering their own versions of
the Arizona law which defines illegal immigration as criminal trespassing and requires police to request documents of anyone they stop and have a reasonable suspicion is in the country illegally.
Several recent public opinion polls indicate that as many as 70 percent of Americans
surveyed support such a police requirement.
The American Civil Liberties Union Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and other civil rights groups have filed lawsuits to block the Arizona law arguing that the Constitution preempts states from enforcing federal law and that the measure will lead to racial profiling.
The U.S. Justice Department which Holder heads is also weighing whether to file suit or intervene.
Although the ranks of chiefs appealing to Holder included Jack Harris of Phoenix Roberto Villaseor of Tucson and John W. Harris of Sahuarita Ariz. president of the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police law enforcement opinion in the state is deeply split.
One of the new laws most prominent backers is Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. His suburban Phoenix county has caught 120000 illegal immigrants under a separate federal program that deputizes state and local law enforcement agents to catch illegal immigrants under limited circumstances mostly after they have been booked into local jails.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu head of the Arizona Sheriffs Association is another backer.
Babeu called the police chiefs argument flawed from the beginning. Cooperation from illegal immigrants particularly those coming from Mexico is already low he said because they are in the United States illegally and because of law enforcement corruption in their native countries.
Somehow when they appear in the U.S. magically their perception of law enforcement
improves overnight? Babeu said.
The people of Arizona believe the overall majority of Americans are not only supportive of this law but that our measure of generosity has been crossed a line has been crossed Babeu added.
Unlike most police chiefs almost all sheriffs are elected officials. However only about 60 of the nations 3000-plus elected sheriffs have chosen to participate in the federal program championed by Arpaio. Meanwhile the nations leading police chiefs have voiced caution about such initiatives.
In 2006 the Major Cities Chiefs Association -- which represents 56 U.S. cities -- unanimously warned that putting local police in the crosshairs of the national immigration debate would undo the success of community policing efforts in recent decades said San Jose Police Chief Robert L. Rob Davis association president and part of the group meeting Holder.
Requiring the Los Angeles Police Department to prioritize the arrest of 400000 illegal immigrants among the citys 4.1 million residents would cripple us and make it impossible for us to do our jobs Beck said.
Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said directing officers to spend hours investigating the immigration status of every person stopped with a suspect identification card would mean less time to catch violent criminals.
We want to focus resources on people who are committing crimes in our communities Manger said. If you got somebody who is gangbanging and committing armed robberies well work with federal immigration authorities all day long to find that individual.
Harris of Phoenix said he feared the Arizona measure will become a political fad at the state level leading federal officials to neglect a national solution to core issues of illegal immigration.
We understand and agree: Federal immigration law the whole system is broken and that people are very very frustrated all across this country Harris said.
But this state law doesnt solve the immigration problems for the country. The solution is here in Washington D.C. and Congress must step forward and come up with a comprehensive immigration reform that will really solve the problem.
