http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01167.html

Arizona city puts migrant clampdown on November ballot

By David Schwartz
Reuters
Monday, August 21, 2006; 6:08 PM



PHOENIX (Reuters) - Phoenix's city council voted on Monday to put an initiative that would force police and other city employees to enforce federal immigration laws on the ballot for the November 7 election.

The council agreed to allow voters in the fifth-largest U.S. city to decide on the measure by a group frustrated with the effects of illegal immigration, after receiving more than the required number of signatures supporting a vote.

Backers of the "Protect our City" measure want to give local authorities powers to crack down on illegal immigrants, more than 1,000 of whom are nabbed each day crossing into southern Arizona from Mexico. The measure is not supported by local police.

"We need to begin to enforce the laws. We shouldn't be giving illegal immigrants a pass," said Randy Pullen, an outspoken activist and ex-mayoral candidate, moments after the decision.

Under the proposal, the Phoenix police would enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to have officers "investigate, apprehend and detain aliens in the United States to the fullest extent consistent with state and federal law."

Other city workers would also check the immigration status of claimants seeking any public benefits in the sprawling city of 1.5 million, which has a large Hispanic community.

Council members had no immediate comment during the brief special meeting on the measure. Mayor Phil Gordon declined to reveal whether he would support it.

Jake Jacobsen, Phoenix Law Enforcement Association president, told Reuters the proposal was "pointless" and represented an unnecessary strain on police.

"My mother isn't going to sleep any better knowing that we just sent a landscaper to jail," Jacobsen said. "Let's devote our limited resources to taking violent criminals off the street - that's our job. Not something like this."

The council was required to put the initiative on the ballot after receiving petitions containing the signatures of 15,052 registered voters within the city, 208 more than required. A legal challenge is expected.

Public opinion is split over just what to do with an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, and the issue is expected to loom large ahead of the November 7 election for members of the U.S. Congress and local officials.

Capitol Hill is divided over a proposal made by President George W. Bush in May to overhaul immigration laws, and increase security along the porous 2,000-mile (3,200-km) border with Mexico.

The plan seeks to offer millions of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, while placing 6,000 National Guard troops along the boundary with Mexico to provide additional security while more Border Patrol agents are recruited.