Thread: Cochise County Sheriff,law, minor effect on his department

Posted: Apr 27, 2010 8:49 PM CDT
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Cochise County Sheriff says immigration law will have only minor effect on his department


Compared to Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever has a different perspective on the new immigration law.

The immigration law is a case where geography can affect a Sheriff's perspective. While Sheriff Dupnik covers rural areas but also large urban areas where illegal immigrants may choose to stay, Sheriff Dever covers a mostly rural county immigrants usually try to cross and keep going.

To Sheriff Larry Dever, the open space of Cochise County is a place for illegal immigrants to pass through on the way to actually stay in a big city.

He says while police in cities with large populations of legal Hispanics may have to figure out how to I-D someone who's undocumented it's often easier for his deputies to narrow down who to question.

Sheriff Dever remembers what a senior Immigration agent asked him.
"He said how do you know they're illegal? I said, I ask them and they tell me. How tough is that? We live in a world of probably cause. That works for me. it's pretty hard for a group moving out through the desert, carrying backpacks, obviously somewhat distressed to suggest they're anything else."

Sheriff Dever says Border Patrol stations so many agents in Cochise County Arizona's new immigration law will probably not force his deputies to do much additional immigration enforcement.

"I don't see a huge impact in Cochise County, on the criminal justice system. We will apply it when necessary and appropriate but particularly as it pertains to what we call frequent flyers: the people who just repeat and repeat and repeat."

This afternoon KGUN9 called the police chief in Douglas to get his view of the new immigration law.

Chief Alberto Melis says does not like the law. He says he'll enforce it but thinks his officers won't encounter immigration enforcement issues as often as police in bigger cities, in part because Douglas has such a large Border Patrol presence, and because many illegal immigrants pass through the area as fast as they can on the way to cities where they'll find more work opportunities.

Departments all across Arizona are waiting for guidance from the state agency that set police training standards.

That's an important part of the governor's order. That agency is supposed to set the crucial standard to guide officers on who it's reasonable to question about immigration status.

That also creates budget issues. Once the standard is set, the chief in Douglas is wondering where he'll find the budget to pay for training time.


http://www.kgun9.com/Global/story.asp?S=12386882

Dever takes after Arpaio. if im not mistaken