AZ Central
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon speaks out against Senate Bill 1070 during the Arizona Democratic Party's Heritage Dinner on Saturday in Phoenix. The event held at The Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa was a fundraiser for the Arizona Democratic Party.
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon plans to join other Arizona mayors in a legal challenge of Arizona's controversial new immigration law.
As part of that lawsuit, he will join other "individual mayors." The legal action will not use Phoenix funds, Gordon added.
Gordon had pushed to file a lawsuit on the city's behalf, but he didn't have enough City Council votes to move forward. The mayor argued that he had the authority to file the lawsuit without City Council's approval, but today, the city attorney released a statement that says that Gordon doesn't have the authority to do that.
"This is a much better way to go" in terms of legal strategy, said Gordon, who added he was working with Phoenix and Washington, D.C., law firms on issue. "I am more convinced that the lawsuit will result in an injunction of the law as well as ultimately being overturned in court as unconstitutional."
Arizona's new law makes it a crime to be in the state illegally. The law also requires local police to check the immigration status of suspected undocumented immigrants.
Phoenix Public Safety Manager Jack Harris on Friday said he will seek a meeting at the White House and continue to lobby national police leaders to discuss how to enforce Arizona's new immigration law.
Enforcing Senate Bill 1070 could strain local police resources and make officers susceptible to lawsuits, Harris said. He added that he had concerns about the current language of the law, which would require his department of nearly 3,400 sworn officers to enforce "civil portions of federal immigration law" as a state criminal charge.
When the law was pending in the state Legislature, Phoenix City Council voted to oppose it.
In a May 3 memo, City Attorney Gary Verburg wrote that City Council has the final say about whether to pursue legal battles in the city's name.
"Chapter V, Section 3, does not grant authority to the Mayor to sue on behalf of the City on his own. That authority rests solely with the City Council," Verburg wrote.
A council member who supports the new law praised Verburg's decision.
"This is a clear victory for the people of Phoenix, who have let me and my colleagues know that they are opposed to any action against the state," said Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio, adding that legal action would waste taxpayer dollars.
Gordon says he disagrees with Verburg's opinion and argued that "the charter is not absolute" on the issue.
But the Phoenix mayor added that he will try a new legal strategy so he won't "divide the council."
As part of that lawsuit, he will join other "individual mayors." The legal action will not use Phoenix funds, Gordon added.
Gordon had pushed to file a lawsuit on the city's behalf, but he didn't have enough City Council votes to move forward. The mayor argued that he had the authority to file the lawsuit without City Council's approval, but today, the city attorney released a statement that says that Gordon doesn't have the authority to do that.
"This is a much better way to go" in terms of legal strategy, said Gordon, who added he was working with Phoenix and Washington, D.C., law firms on issue. "I am more convinced that the lawsuit will result in an injunction of the law as well as ultimately being overturned in court as unconstitutional."
Arizona's new law makes it a crime to be in the state illegally. The law also requires local police to check the immigration status of suspected undocumented immigrants.
Phoenix Public Safety Manager Jack Harris on Friday said he will seek a meeting at the White House and continue to lobby national police leaders to discuss how to enforce Arizona's new immigration law.
Enforcing Senate Bill 1070 could strain local police resources and make officers susceptible to lawsuits, Harris said. He added that he had concerns about the current language of the law, which would require his department of nearly 3,400 sworn officers to enforce "civil portions of federal immigration law" as a state criminal charge.
When the law was pending in the state Legislature, Phoenix City Council voted to oppose it.
In a May 3 memo, City Attorney Gary Verburg wrote that City Council has the final say about whether to pursue legal battles in the city's name.
"Chapter V, Section 3, does not grant authority to the Mayor to sue on behalf of the City on his own. That authority rests solely with the City Council," Verburg wrote.
A council member who supports the new law praised Verburg's decision.
"This is a clear victory for the people of Phoenix, who have let me and my colleagues know that they are opposed to any action against the state," said Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio, adding that legal action would waste taxpayer dollars.
Gordon says he disagrees with Verburg's opinion and argued that "the charter is not absolute" on the issue.
But the Phoenix mayor added that he will try a new legal strategy so he won't "divide the council."
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