Arizona Cities Struggle to Implement New Immigration Laws

Arizona Central: In Arizona, no city has declared itself an official "city of refuge" or begun to issue municipal identification cards. But some cities have been informally labeled sanctuary cities because of their illegal-immigrant-reporting practices. Shortly after Gov. Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1070 into law in April 2010, Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, said he believed that Chandler, Mesa and Phoenix all had policies that violated the new law. He warned that municipalities that are not in compliance could face state sanctions and fines. Although a federal judge halted several parts of SB 1070 from going into effect, the portion of the law that forbids any state or local official or agency from limiting or restricting the enforcement of federal immigration laws is in effect. Chandler and Mesa have responded by making subtle alterations to the way they deal with illegal residents. In Chandler, Police Chief Sherry Kiyler had long ordered her officers not to inquire about the citizenship of crime victims, witnesses, civil-traffic violators or juveniles convicted of non-violent crimes. The policy was recently changed to allow - but not require - officers to investigate the legal status of any detainee.