PHOENIX (AP) — One of Arizona’s staunchest critics of illegal immigration says politicians who don’t aggressively enforce immigration laws should be removed from office.
Sen. Russell Pearce has proposed prohibiting cities and counties from having policies that limit the full enforcement of federal immigration law.
The Mesa Republican called a hearing Thursday morning at the Legislature to examine so-called sanctuary policies.
Many local police bosses in Arizona have resisted the push in recent years to dive deep into immigration enforcement. They have said it would detract from their traditional roles in investigating thefts, assaults and other crimes and would jeopardize the trust they have built in immigrant communities.
It’s the last paragraph that grabs me.
Am I interpreting it wrong or are local authorities essentially saying: “We’re too busy with other stuff to worry about this federal law junk. Besides, we don’t want to offend anyone.”
What do you think? Is Pearce just being a pain or is this a legitimate concern?