Two speak out on immigration law

KINGMAN, Ariz. -- Two Mohave County law enforcement officers fully support Arizona's new immigration enforcement law and downplay efforts to punish the state with boycotts.

Furthermore, they say they will not use the law to track down immigrants.

The law makes it a state crime to be in the United States illegally and requires local and state law enforcement officers to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they're in the country illegally.

"Hot-button topic," Sheriff Tom Sheahan quipped about Senate Bill 1070, which is scheduled to go into effect July 29. "Overblown reaction. We're not going to change anything we do."

The new law has sparked lawsuits, calls for boycotts of Arizona businesses, condemnation by President Barack Obama and members of Congress, and protests by critics who say it will lead to racial profiling .

But Sheahan and Kingman Police Chief Bob Devries said their agencies have followed policies prohibiting racial profiling.

They said their officers are instructed not to approach subjects simply to determine their residency status.

They said the issue arises only when officers conduct traffic stops, respond to calls for service or are otherwise involved in routine law enforcement duties.

Currently, when encountering a possible illegal immigrant who has committed no crime, Kingman police and county sheriff's deputies place a hold on the individual and summon agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.

The new law will allow officers to arrest on misdemeanor trespassing charges a possible illegal immigrant who has committed no crime other than being in the United States unlawfully. That will allow officers to charge, book, fingerprint and photograph subjects who could be ordered to serve county jail time if it is determined they are in the country illegally, Sheahan said.

Even if the new law survives the legal challenges, police, prosecutors and public defenders face challenges with integrating it into their operations.

Devries said there's confusion over whether officers must book possible illegal immigrants under the new law or whether they have discretion to let them skate on the trespassing charge and let ICE deal with them.

"If we don't arrest and charge under the state statute, are we in violation of Senate Bill 1070?" Devries said.

He said he doesn't know whether, and in what instances, officers will be required to impose the law or exercise discretion to bypass it.

"Those are questions we're asking right now, and no one can answer them for us," Devries said.

Another challenge will be handling the resultant court cases.

"It remains to be seen how many people are arrested for the offense in Mohave County," Chief Deputy County Attorney Jace Zack said. "Regardless of the numbers, a number of legal issues will have to be resolved in the early prosecutions, which will require legal resources."

Zack said his office is already undermanned and strained by a tight budget and a hiring freeze. And he said there could be a resource drain on the county public defenders who represent the indigent.

Sheahan said he doesn't know how many illegal immigrants reside in the county. He said, however, it is clear that their numbers have dwindled.

About 300 illegal immigrants were detained in 2006 and 2007, but that the number dropped by half in 2008 and 2009, he said. He attributed the decline to the bust in the building industry and the lack of jobs to draw them to northwest Arizona.

If nothing else, Sheahan said, the new law has stirred up the nation. He said it has put a spotlight on the need for federal immigration reform and sparked debate throughout the country.