All illegal immigrants processed by ICE have a right to see an immigration judge, but Mexicans have the option for "voluntary return," which is basically a quick-and-dirty deportation. Gurule acknowledges that some of the thousands of immigrants deported soon return to the country, but he says his office has begun tracking those people and submitting them for formal deportation hearings. He declined to say how many runs across the border such immigrants will be allowed before ICE takes serious action.
Once a judge orders formal deportation, returning to the country does result in more prison time for some criminal aliens. An ICE program called "Operation Repeat Offender," conducted with the help of the U.S. Attorney's office, has resulted in some hefty sentences.
Matthew Allen, special agent in charge for ICE's Phoenix Office of Investigations.
Michael Ratcliff
Lieutenant Bob Smart, director of IIMPACT.
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For instance, in August, 51-year-old Mexican national Victor Manuel Perez-Monroy was sentenced to five years in federal prison for returning after a deportation order. He had been busted for burglary and imprisoned numerous times in Arizona since 1983. Last month, another career burglar, caught in the country after being officially deported, was sentenced to 87 months in a federal prison.
Yet the career criminals caught and prosecuted for serious offenses are the exception. Voluntary deportations of average worker-bee immigrants are the rule.
The Phoenix ICE/DRO office removed a record 50,000-plus immigrants from the state in the fiscal year that ended September 30. The majority were low-level offenders found in drop houses and smugglers' vehicles, referred by local police or others apprehended by ICE who have no record of serious crime. Even of the 16,000 people removed (or scheduled to be removed) by ICE from county jails, most were relatively minor offenders — just as the Scottsdale arrest reports demonstrate.
On September 18, 2007, Phoenix police Officer Nick Erfle stopped and questioned two women and a man jaywalking near 24th Street and Thomas Road. After discovering the man had a warrant out of Tucson for shoplifting, Erfle tried to make an arrest. But the man, later identified as Erik Jovani Martinez, 22, put up a fight before pulling out a handgun and shooting the officer numerous times, killing him.
Erfle's death hit the already-wavy pond of Arizona's immigration debate like a tsunami. Foes of illegal immigration used the tragedy to renew a call for targeted enforcement against the undocumented.
Such action had long been resisted by overburdened police departments for a number of reasons: nabbing average illegal workers was seen as costly, inefficient, and detrimental to society because witnesses to and victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants might cooperate less with police.
Yet there was clearly some slack in the system that could be tightened. Erfle's killer had been arrested by Scottsdale police for a misdemeanor 16 months before the shooting, but had been released even though he had been deported previously. By the end of last year, Scottsdale changed its policy to make sure that would not happen again.
Phoenix police, records show, began rethinking department policy on immigration just one day after Erfle was shot, scheduling a meeting of division heads to discuss the problem.
The state's largest city already had begun to work more closely with ICE, which was developing a better reputation for helping local police agencies under its new boss, former Texas state trooper Alonzo Pena, Matt Allen's predecessor. Early in 2007, 10 ICE agents were invited to work in the violent crime bureau to help train police in immigration work.
But the city still had its "Order 1.4," which banned officers from contacting ICE in most misdemeanor cases. The order was also apparently illegal: In direct conflict with a federal whistleblower law, it explicitly forbade officers from contacting ICE even when the officers suspected a federal crime was occurring.
On October 25, 2007, Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris convened a series of meetings about the policy with police supervisors. An "informal" survey of 50 community leaders and activists was conducted to find out how people might react to a change. Police did not release the names of those contacted, but the results of the survey showed that 38 of the 50 felt the city should keep its old policy toward illegals.
"The policy change would have a 'chilling effect' in the Hispanic community," stated one of the community members.
Another person interviewed feared, "The immigrant community might look at the police as an extension of ICE."
But the mold for change was already set. Mark Spencer, newly elected president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (the union that represents Phoenix cops), wanted police to have the discretion to call ICE even on civil traffic stops. Spencer took his views public, speaking on radio programs and to the news media, putting extra pressure on city leaders.
"It's very frustrating," Spencer told New Times last year. "This policy clearly detracts from the deterrence factor of illegal immigrants coming into the city."
Then, in late November, a national watchdog group called Judicial Watch threatened to sue the City of Phoenix if it did not change the policy. A week later, on December 3, Mayor Phil Gordon announced he would bring together four high-profile law enforcement experts — former state Attorney General Grant Woods, former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, and former U.S. Attorneys from Arizona Paul Charlton and Jose Rivera — to help craft a new policy.
