Thread: Mesa frustrated over unenforceable immigration law

Published: 10.06.2006

Mesa leaders frustrated over unenforceable immigration lawASSOCIATED PRESS
MESA - City leaders say there's a growing frustration over illegal immigration, but they also agree there's little local authorities can do to enforce federal immigration law.
The City Council discussed some possible measures Thursday, such as training local police to crack down on illegal immigrants, placing sanctions on employers who hire undocumented workers and making it illegal for people to gather on sidewalks to look for work.
But most of the ideas were shelved because they were deemed unenforceable.
Councilman Kyle Jones said the flood of immigrants into the country is driven by economic opportunity, which is tough to combat with local ordinances.
"The motivation is going continue. That draw _ that magnetism, is still going to be there," Jones said.
The most controversial suggestion in the immigration debate was training rank-and-file police officers to enforce immigration laws.
Suzie Barr, an adviser to Gov. Janet Napolitano, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been unwilling to train local officers in Arizona.
The Department of Corrections deports some inmates as a cost-saving measure. No other Arizona law enforcement agency has federal immigration powers.
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has prosecuted illegal immigrants under an interpretation of state law against human smuggling. He's argued that immigrants comply with their own smuggling and therefore are guilty of the conspiracy to bring themselves over.
Mesa Police Chief George Gascon said local officers have too many concerns to tackle the problem of immigration on their own but he would support a state-led task force that includes many law enforcement agencies.
"This is something that we have to be very careful about. We have very limited resources," he said. "We've had to take out our school resource officers. To me, that's of greater importance."
Mesa still plans to pursue some ordinances such as a proposed "anti-soliciting" ordinance and an "anti-nuisance" package aimed at cleaning up problem neighborhoods.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/149875.php

What a cowardly, blatant cop-out!

Submit, raise the white flag.........are these guys PFrench?