Police chiefs slam Arizona anti-immigrant law

Police chiefs from 10 major U.S. cities, including Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., expressed strong disapproval of Arizona's anti-immigrant law today, May 26 in a meeting with US Attorney General Eric Holder.

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Tucson Chief of Police Roberto Villaseñor discussed what he told Holder. "We have all expressed concern that this will cause a divide between our communities and our agencies," he said.

Recent declines in crime, Villaseñor explained, have resulted from hard-won close relations between the community and the police. Police are more successful in protecting communities from crime when they have good communication and close ties to the people they protect.

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Salt Lake City Chief of Police Chris Burbank described SB 1070 as "counter-productive" and added, "Our Latino population, and even the undocumented Latino population are not committing crimes at a higher rate." The law would force the police to divert attention from the "criminal element" to a "civil enforcement role" which the police should not do.

He described political pressure placed on local police agencies to enforce immigration law as "fear mongering."