The Phoenix PD at this point, and for the past 20 or so years, have a "don't ask" policy, which mean they don't ask about anyone's immigration status. Now, due to pressures from the anti-immigration/racist elements, the mayor of phoenix is saying he supports a change in this policy. Not only this, but a new policy will soon be in the works.
Gordon said the new policy, to be developed by a four-man advisory panel, should allow police to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement when any law has been violated by a person police suspect to be an illegal immigrant.
This was somewhat of a surprise to many people, although many could see things going in this direction but not this soon.
I've commented before on how i feel about such a change. Of course, sheriff joe has gotten the okay to have his officers ask about immigration status a few months back (by the way, arrests are over 1000 now for the smuggling/conspiracy charges, and they've gotten 500 prosecutions so far). DPS also has this ability.
What i found interesting was this statement by the mayor:
"As mayor, I have seen our situation escalate to a perilous point. Rhetoric is replacing reason. There's too much hate. It's ugly, it's dangerous, and good people continue to suffer."
So... whose hate is it? Who is it ugly and dangerous for? Maybe he has a different perspective, but it sounds like the racist haters coming out to protest the protests at Pruitt's are representing this hate, ugliness, and danger, although he doesn't specifically mention these folks. But if this is the case, how is the appropriate response to change the police policy? It's like reinstating slavery for the reason that white people are burning crosses because they're not allowed to keep slaves. How is that for reason?
The situation is probably more likely that his statements about hate were just fluffy soundbites, and it really has to do with giving in to the racist elements of this city.
I am under the impression that this is somewhat a backlash against immigrants' rights demonstrators- or rather it is perhaps intended to seem like a backlash in order to discourage protests. I think this is all the more reason to support the Pruitt's protests and others that may come up in the future, not to mention a darn good reason is all the crazy minutemen and bikers who are there harassing the day laborers and supporters during these protests.
We also need to come up with new creative ways to address these issues. It's not enough to know about this stuff, or even to re-post and write and whatever else. We need to take action wherever possible. If you've been waiting for the right time, it's probably past the right time, but you still have opportunities...
