After a revised immigration policy went into effect January 1, Mesa says its police officers are better trained to report and detain suspected illegal aliens.
The department revised its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Protocol last fall after a series of immigration controversies. It has been training its officers since October.
The new policy is similar to those in use in Phoenix and Scottsdale. All three cities now ask for a suspect’s status when arrested and booked into jail.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio criticized Mesa for failing to ask questions about immigration status when dealing with suspects. The new policy is designed to address those concerns. If officers suspect an immigration violation or a prisoner admits to being illegal, they can contact ICE.
“There are times we should be asking questions” of suspected illegal immigrants, Assistant Chief Mike Denney said. “There is a vehicle through this protocol to do that.”
The updated protocol provides officers a clearer set of guidelines on how to handle illegal immigrants and when to report them to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities, said Sgt. Fabian Cota, president of the Mesa Police Association.
“Now officers don’t have to guess what to do,” Cota said. The old protocol was overly vague and left officers open to accusations of racial profiling. “I think it will show that based on what our current resources are, we are doing what we can to eliminate criminal aliens from our city,” he added
The daily covers the subject here.
Good going, Joe! I’m surprised the Republic gave you this much credit!!
I also think the Police Departments are reacting to public frustration with the lack of any real action when illegals are apprehended after committing criminal acts. Most of us are fed up with the lame policies that turn a blind eye to the lawbreaking. The costs to AZ’s taxpayers are exorbitant! With the economy as it currently is, we can afford this insanity even less.
Arpaio is an Anerican hero, I wish him only the best.
Police being allowed to protect American citizens and enforce the law…how quaint! How we all LOVE Sheriff Joe!
Thanks for teaching Chief Gascon and the City of Mesa how it’s done Sheriff! Now if only “Mayor” Phil Gordon would pay attention.
I also think the Police Departments are reacting to public frustration with the lack of any real action when illegals are apprehended after committing criminal acts. Most of us are fed up with the lame policies that turn a blind eye to the lawbreaking. The costs to AZ’s taxpayers are exorbitant! With the economy tanking as it currently is, we can afford this insanity even less.
Good news again from Sheriff Joe and I would add that the citizens of Mesa have played a part in this since I imagine most are pretty fed up with great swaths of their city being turned into barrios. With the economy heading further south, we need to remove every illegal from every job and send them packing. There are millions of Americans looking for work and illegals are costing ALL KINDS of jobs including HR jobs that require bilingual skills due to an illegal workforce that won’t learn English. Anyone who states that illegals only do work that Americans won’t do is a complete idiot.