Posted: Jul 26, 2010 6:10 PM
Updated: Jul 26, 2010 7:37 PM
PIMA COUNTY - We're just days away from the enactment of Arizona's new illegal immigration law and we're learning, there are still concerns as to how local law enforcement, and the feds, will work together.
The training video officers have been watching, for weeks, says one thing. But now officers are being told differently when it comes to who they should call to confirm identity or status.
Chris Olson with the Oro Valley Police Department said the video was made without much input from ICE and now the miscommunication has the government going against the video.
Olson said, "Just recently the Arizona Post received info from ICE that we could not verify immigration status over the phone. A large portion of the training directs officers to use that law enforcement center support line to verify immigration status."
Oro Valley and other agencies are now working on new policies for whom to call when an incident comes up, but there are concerns the change will make response times even longer.
Jason Ogan with the Pima County Sheriff's Department said, "We don't want to wait for someone for 45 minutes to show up. Usually we have a lot going on in the county so we aren't going to be able to wait that long."
So what happens if it does take that long?
Police said they'll be forced to let the person go. Olson said, "We cannot. We will not hold them for an unreasonable amount of time." Ogan said, "If a higher priority call comes out we're going to leave that stop just as we would if it were anyone else."
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