Immigrant advocates protest Gordon move
100 march to City Hall
Daniel González
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 19, 2007 05:00 PM
Police union are pushing for more leeway to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement
About 100 immigrant-rights advocates marched from a Phoenix furniture store to City Hall on Wednesday to protest Mayor Phil Gordon's efforts to have Phoenix police take a more aggressive approach toward arresting undocumented immigrants.

The march took place on the day of the last City Council meeting of the year. Marchers spoke out against Gordon's decision to change a 20-year-old policy that restricts officers from asking people about their immigration status during routine encounters.

"I implore you to maintain the policy so the immigrant community can maintain trust of the police," said Rev. Liana Rowe of Interfaith Worker Justice of Arizona, one of 25 people who spoke to the council opposing the policy change. advertisement


video:Immigration debate marches on to city hall


Facing growing political pressure from anti-illegal-immigration groups threatening a recall, Gordon last month asked a panel to come up with a new policy by year's end that would give police more authority to enforce immigration laws.

Gordon asked the panel to come up with a policy that also includes protections against ethnic profiling and discrimination.

The decision marked a reversal from Gordon's earlier support for the policy, known as Operations Order 1.4.

The reversal has put the mayor at odds with Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris, who says arresting illegal immigrants would divert resources away from fighting violent crime.

It has put Gordon more in line with rank-and-file officers who through the police union are pushing for more leeway to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement when they encounter undocumented immigrants, and with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio has been using ICE-trained deputies to crack down on undocumented immigrants for months.

Immigration-rights advocates and many Latino community leaders fear that using local police to enforce immigration laws will lead to widespread ethnic profiling and civil-rights violations. They also are concerned that immigrants, many of whom already are wary of police, will become more reluctant to report crimes out of fear that they will be arrested and deported.

"We want the mayor to listen to his police chief and not change Operations Order 1.4," said Salvador Reza, who organized the march.

As Phoenix police officers kept watch and managed traffic, the marchers made their way about six miles from Pruitt's Home Furnishings on Thomas Road near 35th Street to downtown.

The furniture store has become a flashpoint in the national debate over illegal immigration, with weekly protests by advocates of day laborers and members of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and other anti-illegal-immigration groups.

Some pro-immigration marchers carried signs with slogans that read, "No human being is illegal." Along the way, they were met with small groups of anti-illegal-immigration protesters, which led to some verbal confrontations, but no arrests by police.

"If you are illegal, go home," yelled Bobby Wright, 30, of Buckeye, as the marchers passed. "Get legal or go home. You are all terrorists."

About 30 anti-illegal-immigration advocates also were waiting for the marchers outside the City Council chambers.

Rich Martin, 65, of Phoenix, said the killing of Phoenix police Officer Nick Erfle by an undocumented immigrant in September showed the need for police to have more authority to enforce immigration laws.

"We need to protect our police and make sure they don't have to die at the hands of illegals," Martin said.

Reza told undocumented immigrants to stay away out of fear they could be arrested and deported.

Reza accused Arpaio of trying to intimate marchers by sending deputies to patrol areas along the route. A sheriff's van with a billboard on the side that said "stop illegal immigration" trailed protesters most of the way.

Arpaio denied that he was trying to intimate protesters. Sheriff's deputies arrested nine people, seven of whom turned out to be undocumented immigrants, said spokesman Paul Chagolla.

The arrests were made during traffic stops near Pruitt's, Chagolla said.



Reach the reporter at daniel.gonzalez@arizonarepublic.com.