Gordon talks to police on burden of illegals

Illegal immigration is placing a heavy burden on Phoenix, both in terms of financial expenses and social costs, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon told a group of law enforcement officials at a national Police Foundation conference Thursday in Washington, D.C.

"Obviously, there are economic costs, but some costs go beyond dollars and cents. There are also public safety costs, social costs and constitutional costs. There are human costs," Gordon said, according to a transcript of the speech released by his aides.

The mayor also accused Maricopa County Sheriff's Office personnel - again - of racial profiling, and called on the current and next presidents, as well as the sitting and incoming members of Congress, to pass meaningful border security and immigration reform measures.

Sheriff's office spokesman Paul Chagolla did not respond to e-mail and telephone messages seeking comment about Gordon's speech.

A day earlier at a county Board of Supervisors meeting in Phoenix, sheriff's office spokeswoman Lisa Allen and Sgt. Manny Madrid assured the board that deputies do not engage in racial profiling, and in fact, they said, Sheriff Joe Arpaio ensures that deputies are specifically counseled on the topic.

Allen said, "Sheriff Arpaio insists that his deputies enforce all the laws of Arizona, treat all contacts with respect and dignity, and never racially profile anyone."

Gordon told the group in Washington that in terms of the economic cost of illegal immigration, Phoenix is spending more than $10 million to hire 100 new police officers to respond to crimes such as smuggling and kidnapping that are directly associated with it.

Furthermore, he said, the city is paying about $2 million a year to book and house illegal immigrants in county jails for a variety of crimes.

In regard to the social costs, the community has become less safe because of Arpaio's high-profile "crime enforcement" sweeps that, the mayor said, target illegal immigrants and infringe upon the civil rights of all Hispanic residents.

"Arpaio has filled a political void created by the utter neglect and inaction on immigration issues by Congress and the president - and he has exploited that void to suit his own political needs," Gordon said. "The sheriff's method is to profile people with brown skin, and to ignore the civil rights we should all be enjoying."

He has chastised Arpaio by name in two other major speeches in Phoenix this year. Gordon is a Democrat who's frequently mentioned as a candidate for the governor's race in 2010, while Arpaio is a Republican who's seeking his fifth four-year term as sheriff in November.

Gordon also renewed his plea to investigative reporters from around the country to report on illegal-immigration enforcement in his city.

"Come to Phoenix and shine a light on the intolerant few," he said as the keynote speaker at the conference that focused on local enforcement of immigration laws.

"Let Congress and the White House finally see what their unconscionable neglect is costing us. Report on the racism and the hate. Turn your cameras into the eyes of American citizens whose civil rights don't seem to matter anymore," Gordon said to an audience of about 250 people.

Also on Thursday, the sheriff's office issued a news release in which Arpaio complimented his deputies' "tremendous success" in apprehending suspects on outstanding warrants during crime suppression and human smuggling operations.

Deputies have made 99 warrant arrests during recent operations, Chagolla said in a follow-up e-mail. Neither the news release nor the e-mail defined "recent."