Arizona immigration law will boost crime in U.S. cities, police chiefs say

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Source: Washington Post


Arizona immigration law will boost crime in U.S. cities, police chiefs say

By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 26, 2010; 6:06 AM

Arizona's new crackdown on illegal immigration will increase crime in U.S. cities, not reduce it, by driving a wedge between police and immigrant communities, police chiefs from several of the state's and the nation's largest cities said Tuesday.

The new Arizona law will intimidate crime victims and witnesses who are illegal immigrants and divert police from investigating more serious crimes, chiefs from Los Angeles, Houston and Philadelphia said. They will join their counterparts from Montgomery County, Md., and a half-dozen other U.S. cities in meeting Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Wednesday morning to discuss the measure.

"This is not a law that increases public safety. This is a bill that makes it much harder for us to do our jobs," Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said. "Crime will go up if this becomes law in Arizona or in any other state."







Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/26/AR2010052601200.html