Ariz: Immigration-enforcement proposal to go up for vote

[dman1200]

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... n0817.html

Immigration-enforcement proposal to go up for vote

Monica Alonzo-Dunsmoor
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 17, 2006 12:00 AM

PHOENIX - A group that wants to require Phoenix police officers and other city employees to enforce federal immigration laws has now collected enough signatures to put that measure to a public vote as early as November.

Randy Pullen, chairman of Protect Our City, needed 14,844 valid signatures to get the initiative on the ballot. His group turned in 15,052.

There will be a special meeting at 9 a.m. Monday for the City Council to consider whether to put the measure on the Nov. 7 ballot. The meeting will be in the subcommittee room on the 12th floor of City Hall, 200 W. Washington St.

"People throughout the city are frustrated with the effects of illegal immigration," Mayor Phil Gordon said. "And now the residents of Phoenix will have the opportunity to vote."

Jake Jacobsen, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, said Pullen's proposal is not the answer to the problem of illegal immigration.

Requiring police officers to enforce federal immigration laws would hamper their ability to deal with daily emergencies, Jacobsen said.

Pullen's group initially submitted 21,797 signatures, but the Phoenix City Clerk's office found only 14,160 of those valid.

Follow-up efforts yielded an additional 1,275 signatures. Of those, 892 were valid, which more than made up for the 684-signature shortfall.

Phoenix voters will consider whether police officers and other city employees should act as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and whether Phoenix should "enter into an agreement with the United States Department of Homeland Security to designate police officers as immigration officers qualified to investigate, apprehend and detain aliens."

Pullen, who helped bring Proposition 200 to Arizona, plans to take this initiative to Tucson and Mesa next year.

Proposition 200 is a voter-approved measure that aims to restrict certain public benefits to undocumented immigrants and prevent them from voting.

The deadline is Aug. 24 to submit arguments that appear in election publicity pamphlets in support of or in opposition to the enforcement measure.

For information on how to submit an argument, call (602) 262-6837.

[LegalinAZ]

I fully agree with the idea of giving police the authority to arrest any illegals they find. In Tucson, many of the police calls involve immigrants, and if the cops can check for legal documentation and arrest those without it, during their calls, they can probably cut down on the illegals living in the US. Additionally, if the illegals know that they can be arrested and deported if the cops catch them, many may think twice before committing any crimes.

I hope this vote comes to Tucson, and would like information on how to follow this issue in the Tucson metro area. I live here and am American, born & raised, and this problem concerns me & my family. So, I need to know more and to keep myself informed of the decisions. Afterall, this is MY government, and it'll take my legal vote to help us get our country back.

Good Thursday to everyone!

[sippy]

LegalinAZ,

Welcome aboard!
There are many great resources here on ALIPAC to help keep you up to date in your area.
William and his team are awesome at keeping up on these issues and action items for us in this fight.
It would be nice to see the AZ law enforcement officers able to arrest illegals. If the word gets out that they can be arrested by local officers, many of them may self deport, and many may think twice about coming here.

I hope this passes.

[Virginiamama]

WELCOMELegalinAZ! Glad your here