Thread: Petitions now in for enforcement initiative

Aug 12, 4:12 AM EDT

Petitions now in for proposed immigration enforcement initiative

PHOENIX (AP) -- A group that wants Phoenix to enforce federal immigration policies has submitted its last batch of petitions in hopes of getting the proposed measure before voters as early as November.

Randy Pullen, chairman of Protect Our City, said he dropped off petitions with 1,246 signatures at the Phoenix City Clerk's Office on Friday.

The group initially submitted 21,797 signatures, but only 14,160 of those were valid. The requirement is 14,844 to qualify for the ballot.

Protect Our City got a second shot at making up the difference because laws allow proponents an extra 10 days to do so.



If the proposed initiative makes it on the ballot, Phoenix voters will consider whether police officers and other city employees should act as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and whether Phoenix should "enter into an agreement with the United States Department of Homeland Security to designate police officers as immigration officers qualified to investigate, apprehend and detain aliens."

If approved, Pullen said he anticipates the measure would be used by police officers during the normal course of their jobs. He said that if police have reasonable cause to believe that someone is not a legal resident, they have the right to ask directly whether that person is a legal resident.

Pullen said he plans to take the same proposal to Tucson and Mesa next year.

Nancy-Jo Merritt, a legal expert in immigration, called the proposal unnecessary.

"It is another piece of goofy political theater, written for an audience that can't get enough of anti-immigrant enforcement drama," she said. "The idea that without the amendment city officials wouldn't fully comply with federal law is laughable, and asking the Phoenix Police Department to add enforcement of federal immigration law to their duties is not only a bad idea but dangerous."

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Nancy-Jo Merritt, a legal expert in immigration, called the proposal unnecessary.

"It is another piece of goofy political theater, written for an audience that can't get enough of anti-immigrant enforcement drama," she said. "The idea that without the amendment city officials wouldn't fully comply with federal law is laughable, and asking the Phoenix Police Department to add enforcement of federal immigration law to their duties is not only a bad idea but dangerous."

Has this lady been living in a box, or what? She has obviously lost touch with reality. Oh I forgot, she is a pro-illegal immigrant activists - that explains everything!