Cops: Arizona's anti-illegal immigration law mandates 'racial profiling'

BY MICHAEL SHERIDAN
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tuesday, May 18th 2010, 12:23 PM

Franklin/AP

Phoenix police officer David Salgado, an opponent of the new immigration law in Arizona, has sued the city of Phoenix and the governor over the anti-illegal immigration law.

Franklin/AP

Suspected illegal immigrants are detained by law enforcement officials in Phoenix.

As politicians and pundits debate Arizona's controversial anti-illegal immigration law, police in the state are caught in the middle - and exchanging fire.

Two police officers are challenging the law in court, fearing the bill will ultimately force cops to racially profile Hispanics.

"Before the signing of this bill, citizens would wave at me," said David Salgado, a 19-year Phoenix police officer who has sued the city and the governor, asking that the law be blocked, according to the Associated Press. "Now they don't even want to make eye contact."

Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris, a critic of the law, told AP: "When you get a law that leads a state down this path, where the enforcement is targeted to a particular segment of the population, it's very difficult not to profile."

"It takes officers away from doing what our main core mission is, and that is to make our community safe," Harris said recently to Phoenix's KSAZ Fox 10 News.

The cops are at odds with police unions, who argue the law clearly states race cannot be used as a factor.

"Crime is not based upon skin color, it's based upon conduct," said Mark Spencer, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the union representing Phoenix officers that lobbied aggressively for the law, the AP reported.

According to the Arizona Republic, law enforcement leaders from Maryland, California and Nevada have also stated their opposition to the immigration law.

"We'd be losing a lot more than we'd be gaining if we had to undertake federal immigration responsibilities," Montgomery County, Maryland Police Chief J. Thomas Manger told the newspaper.

Nevada Sheriff Mike Haley said, "Any unfunded mandate, any direction by the federal government, that I use my precious resources to affect a federal outcome would affect my ability to do what the taxpayers in my county have asked me to do, and that is to keep them safe from criminals."

Arizona's effort to secure its border from illegal immigrants, which defenders call a necessity because of the lack of federal action, continues to draw criticisms in the form of protests and boycotts.

Seattle has joined several other U.S. cities – including Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles - in protesting Arizona's sweeping new immigration law.

Meanwhile, states such as Texas, Utah, Oklahoma and Maryland are considering similar anti-illegal immigration legislation.