Thread: New smuggling law seen as local burden

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/66072.php


New smuggling law seen as local burden

By Becky Pallack
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

For police, a new state law is an added tool for investigating smuggling rings, but it's also a burden on already-strapped resources, said Tucson Police Chief Richard Miranda.

The law, signed by Gov. Janet Napolitano on Monday, allows a person to be charged at the state level with felony human smuggling - a charge that was only federal in the past. The legislation, which will take effect this summer, doesn't provide funds for local law enforcement's extra efforts.

Miranda said he supports the law but draws a line at enforcing immigration laws.

"It's a tough balance for the police officer in terms of the decisions that need to be made," he said.

Officers don't ask people for legal documentation, but when the law takes effect, they'll have to use discretion. The department will come up with scenarios appropriate for asking for legal papers, he said.

"It could hamper or destroy a relationship I think is very strong" between the police and the Hispanic community, Miranda said.

He said the state should educate people about the law's purpose for protecting human rights.

"They don't have to be afraid of the police in terms of getting hauled off by the Border Patrol," Miranda said, adding that he has taken a hard stance against racial profiling.

The Police Department does have a policy of holding a suspect for 20 minutes if federal authorities need to be called, but after that police will cite and release a suspect.

Now in the course of an investigation, the police will be able to charge a suspect with smuggling rather than relying on federal authorities, said Rep. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, who introduced the bill that became law.

Although the problem of drop houses crammed with illegal entrants is not as big in Tucson as in Phoenix, Miranda said he expects more calls will come in and more investigations will be initiated, adding to detectives' workloads and causing concerns about handling these investigations.

Police often hand such investigations to federal agencies, but they will have to be more active in the future, he said.

In a drop-house investigation, the immigrants will become witnesses if a smuggler is charged at the state level. Miranda said he's not sure whether those people would be placed in Border Patrol custody for deportation when they might have to appear in court.

There will be additional challenges for the prosecution too, he said.

The Pima County Attorney's Office may have to hand cases to federal agencies if it doesn't have enough resources. And defense attorneys can attack the Police Department's documentation if a fluent Spanish speaker wasn't at the scene.

The department already uses its bilingual officers for many investigations, including homicides.


â—? Contact reporter Becky Pallack at 629-9412 or bpallack@azstarnet.com

Is this some sort of "don't ask, don't tell" policy? Or just an outright refusal to do their duty and enforce the law?

Originally Posted by DonQuixote

Is this some sort of "don't ask, don't tell" policy? Or just an outright refusal to do their duty and enforce the law?

It sounds like you have it summed up pretty well.

Don't be too tough on the local police. They are being asked to do
more but might not have extra resources. I'm sure that they
appreciate the extra "latitude" that they have been given.
I like the law and we'll have to see how things go.
Washington drags their feet and leaves the Border Patrol and local
police trying to decide which hole to plug in the dyke.