New Mesa mayor: Illegal immigration a top priority
May 22nd, 2008 @ 9:33am
by KTAR Newsroom

Mesa's new mayor says illegal immigration is one of his top priorities and he'll work to come up with a clear plan for the city.

Scott Smith won the mayor's office in Tuesday's election.

``I'm going to be a man who confronts illegal immigration head-on. We're going to come together and come up with a clear and concise policy as to where the city of Mesa is, because there is no clear and concise policy, and that's one of the problems," Smith said on News/Talk 92-3 KTAR's ``Gaydos After Dark."

``We have a real problem. We have to enforce the law. We have to make sure it's done in a manner that respects constitutional rights. You can strike a balance. It's tough, it will be difficult, but we can do it."

Smith added, ``I don't believe we will be a sanctuary city. I don't believe we are, but we need to better communicate."

The mayor-elect said he has no problem with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio bringing his crime suppression sweep to Mesa ``so long as it's done in a constitutional manner and he coordinates his efforts with the Mesa Police Department."

Arpaio has said he will go to Mesa next with the crime suppression patrols, which have drawn protests of racial profiling when staged at two locations in Phoenix where day laborers gather and in the predominantly-Hispanic town of Guadalupe on the Phoenix-Tempe border.






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