Gascón to pay back costs of congressional trip

Following sharp criticism over immigration activist groups paying for his trip last week to Washington, Mesa police chief George Gascón announced Friday that he regrets “the hint of concern raised by some regarding this situation” and is paying the cost of the trip on his own.

Hearings' focus shifts from Arpaio to Gascón

PDF: Statement from Mesa Police Chief George Gascón

PDF:Chief George Gascón's testimony before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee

“To ensure transparency and to avoid having this issue become a distraction to serving the people of Mesa, I have informed County Supervisor (Mary Rose) Wilcox that I will pay the full cost of the trip from my personal funds,” Gascón said in a statement.

The police chief also will take personal leave days off to account for his time in Washington, “even though I was testifying at the request of Congress and in my capacity as a professional law enforcement officer.”

City Hall and the police department have been deluged with e-mails and phone calls from people raising concerns about Gascón’s trip and his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee about the controversial 287(g) program.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was at times the focus of the congressional hearing, is under federal scrutiny over allegations his deputies use discriminatory practices and of racial profiling.

Also in the statement, Gascón said initially he was told a group of nonprofits “concerned with immigration reform and civil rights” were paying for his trip.

“Subsequently, I was informed that the cost was covered by Respect Respeto, a local non-profit,” Gascón states. The Phoenix-based Respect Respeto describes itself as a human rights group.

The police chief further noted that “when it comes to ethical standards, appearances can be just as important as substantive issues.” On the questions raised as to why he testified in Washington, Gascón stated he treated it as a duty.

“I consider the opportunity to inform Congress on issues such as policing and the care taken to protect civil rights both an honor and a civic duty.”

Gascón was invited to testify at the behest of Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, through the office of County Supervisor Wilcox.

Gascón said his testimony was consistent with his previously stated position that the vexing illegal immigration issue needs to be solved by the federal government “and relieve state and local jurisdictions of the burden.”

The 287(g) program is a partnership between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and state and local law enforcement agencies under which designated officers are trained in immigration law enforcement, and are able to identify and detain illegal immigrants.

Gascón was questioned about his Washington trip payment during the testimony.

At least two City Council members said they spoke with City Manager Chris Brady about residents’ concerns and questions about the trip. Late Thursday, Brady said he would not comment on the nature of his discussions with Gascón this past week.

Brady also pointed out that Gascón didn’t talk about Arpaio in his prepared statement at the testimony.

“He was asked about the sheriff’s actions. He didn’t bring him up on his own,” Brady said.

Mayor Scott Smith deferred comment about the trip.

Smith said he was pleased with the police department’s immigration law enforcement “as it fits within our policy framework.”

Under Mesa’s policy, anyone arrested would be asked their immigration status and federal authorities would be contacted if there’s reason to believe the person is in the country illegally, but others such as a crime victim or a witness would not, nor would anyone stopped or cited for a civil traffic violation with a valid driver’s license.

Councilman Alex Finter, whose Blackberry “vibrated for hours” after the testimony, said that the immigration debate gets too ”passionate” and “political,” and can sidetrack city policing efforts.

The councilman said with the city facing ongoing budgetary challenges, it won’t do any good to be “distracted with another episode of the Arpaio-Gascón drama,” referring to the rift between Gascón and Arpaio after sheriff’s deputies came to Mesa for an immigration sweep last summer, as well as their raids on city buildings in October.

“We need to get focused on some major challenges we have as a city, and dealing with some of these concerns has been a major distraction,” Finter said.

In Friday’s statement, Gascón pointed to his record in Mesa, since he became police chief in 2006, of reducing serious crimes like homicides and rapes by 34.3 percent.

“I want to make sure our focus remains on those important tasks,” Gascón said.

In Gascón’s prepared statement in Washington, he had said: “Increased political pressure on local law enforcement to reduce undocumented immigration coupled with the federal deputation of local police to enforce federal immigration statutes is jeopardizing sound and well-established policing practices.”

In his statement, Gascón had made no mention Arpaio, except for one veiled reference.

“Unfortunately, in some cases enforcement decisions are being based on politics instead of professional public safety concerns, and the goal of dealing with serious criminal activities has been replaced by a numbers game.”

When Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) asked the Mesa police chief about last year’s City Hall raid by the sheriff’s office, Gascón criticized Arpaio’s immigration enforcement tactics.

Gascón also had told the committee that charging local police with immigration enforcement breeds distrust in minority, particularly minority immigrant communities, and increases the likelihood that police officers will violate people’s civil rights.