“Class is back in session,” tucson.com reports. “But students in Tucson middle and high schools will have to wait a little longer for police in the city’s newly restored School Resource Officer program to join them on campus. The City Council delayed approving an agreement with Tucson Unified and Amphitheater school districts Tuesday night over concerns about officers asking students about their immigration status.” While the chances of a spree killer attacking any given school are lottery-level small, the AZ school district’s reticence is still an outrage. For you and me, who see nothing wrong with asking students if they’re undocumented (especially if the student is disruptive or violent) and for PC pols, who have no respect whatsoever for the rule of law. For example . . .
Councilwoman Regina Romero blasted the city attorney and police chief Tuesday night, accusing them of defying council orders by failing to include a provision in the agreement explicitly forbidding police officers to ask students about their immigration status under any circumstance.
Romero said the council was clear on that point when it voted in July to add school resource officers — which the city didn’t have at the time — to a city policy limiting when police can ask anyone about their immigration status.
However, a transcript of the July meeting is less than clear.
While it shows Romero moved to prohibit any questioning of students, she also explains the motion is linked to a November council policy to prohibit any police officers from questioning students without a parent, guardian or attorney present, which is now TPD policy.
Council members were told in both November and July a total prohibition would be illegal.
Luckily, the local police do respect legal boundaries.
Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor told Romero again Tuesday that he couldn’t order his officers to break a law, regardless of how unpopular it is.
“There were clear statements made that day that we cannot require officers to neglect their lawful duty,” Villaseñor said, reminding the council of the July discussion.
“As the chief of police, I’m obligated by charter to provide for public safety and have full control over the Police Department. I do not agree to implement an order that requires me to violate the law. This type of directive requires me to violate the law. And I will not do it,” he said.
The Council eventually resolved the “crisis” by drafting and approving new rules that mandate that School Resource Officers can’t ask a student their immigration status unless ” it is directly relevant to an investigation.” Whatever that means. Councilwoman Romero, the sole vote against the revision, explained her reasoning.
“A parent should not stay at home or go to work and have any doubt in their mind that their child is going to get deported when they go to school,” Romero said. “This questioning should never happen at schools.”
Maybe so. Maybe not. But holding up SRO deployment to protect illegal immigrants from facing the legal consequences of an illegal act strikes me as perverse on a number of levels. You?
If they want to know the answer to ‘that’ question, surely they can just get the parent’s details from the school and cross reference?
For the purpose of SRO deployment, what is the real likelihood of ‘that’ question being relevant to any investigation?!
Nope, schools are not allowed to ask for proof of citizenship.
How convenient, taxpayers funding kids that should not be there and administration turning a blind eye while creating laws to prevent police from doing their work. Know that every illegal present brings in cash flow from the federal government. Yet we do nothing about it.
Makes it kinda hard to respect government, doesn’t it? Better make sure that YOU obey the law, though. And pay your taxes. The government needs your money to fund its programs, including giving illegals free education and health benefits.
The problem is taxpayer funding. If they privatized all the schools, then each student’s parents would simply pay tuition. Once again, a problem solved by the Free Market!
Councilwoman Regina Romero should be the first one deported.
This is one of the hallmarks of leftism. Enforce the law when doing so advances your agenda or harms your enemies, ignore the law when it’s to your advantage (and jump up and down and scream like hell about how lawless your enemies are, regardless of whether they actually are). And get as many laws on the books as possible for selective enforcement for maximum flexibility. Which is why anti’s never met a gun control policy they didn’t like.
There should be a law that makes passing a law that makes enforcing a law illegal….
A ridiculous statement to explain a ridiculous situation…
My head almost exploded just now.
It’s a federal law. The federal government can send in FBI if they want to chase immigrants. Why should the state police forces assist them in it, if their constituents don’t want them to be used for that?
In a similar vein, weed may be illegal on the federal level, but good luck asking Washington or Colorado police departments going after it.
And people say AZ is secure against encroachments on gun rights. Tucson area even has candidates running on gun control these days. This one is about immigration, of course, but it all goes nicely as a package.
Please don’t lump in the rest of the state with Tucson. Tucson is Tucson, full of whiney pussies and college kids. The rest of Arizona loves guns.
That’s the hope, but the Phoenix mayor seems a bit on the anti-gun side too, so I wonder if it’s really just Tucson and no other place in AZ.
if the kid is illegal, then so is the parent.. send them both back.. what is the council afraid of loosing votes? They are Illegals, no right to vote, and according to the libs.. there is no such thing as voter fraud..
Schools get paid by the government per student. If a student is deported, the school loses income. It’s all about the money…
When we pulled our kids out of public school, they threw a fit! Homeschooling has been one of the bigger sacrifices my wife (and me a little 🙂 ) have made, but it has been/will be worth it.
^^^ That. Right there.
The official ‘count day’ is all that matters in our local schools here. They get their funding based on that count on that single day (yes, it is that simple).
Less students equals less funding. Also why they keep lowering standards to ensure that they have less drop outs.
More students results in a bigger budget next year. All schools play the game.
It’s all about trust.
The SRO should be there for the security of the students, faculty, and staff and should be a trusted resource. If they have any other agenda, they’ll lose the trust, won’t be welcome…then what’s the point. The SRO shouldn’t be trying to weed out the undocumented.
Think of it this way – how many gun owners won’t let a cop into their house for fear he/she may snoop around looking for a reason so seize their guns and take their kids out of a “bad environment” (read gun ownership), etc. This is pretty similar. A school brings in an SRO and they want to be sure the cops won’t be poking around and taking their kids.
If that was truly the reasoning, then arm the teachers. Call the police for crimes. Walk the student out and file a report. But, you know that’s not the truth. Teachers and administration have alot of the same authoritarian issues. Do as I say when I say and be quick about it.
Why do you support illegal aliens? Illegal aliens are a threat to the American people and SROs should be aggressive in identifying and arresting illegal aliens.
Yup Federale, you got me, as you so eloquently lay out – I “support illegal aliens”. Heck I’m starting up my own line of “I am the Illegal Aliens” bracelets. If you want one I’m gonna need about tree fiddy.
I’m pretty sure the middle school kids (legal and illegal alike) are of little threat to the SROs and American People. If we want to get serious about the illegal immigrant mess, then there are better ways than having SROs “getting aggressive” as you say with a bunch of 12 year olds kids trying to endure another day of sloppy joes.
We had to show birth certificate, parental SS card, AND two forms of proof of address before we could enroll our child in school. That’s fine, there are lots of ways to identify a family – when applying for work, for school, etc. Having police asking little 12 year old Johnny “show me your papers” in a middle school hallway? Not one of them.
You should read a bit more about some of these kids.
There are middle schoolers who are full blooded
members of MS-13 or other gangs (i.e. they’ve killed
someone). Are SROs the best (or even appropriate)
way to snag illegals, probably not. But don’t discount
that there is a serious threat based solely on age.
Tucson, unfortunately, is a seething pool of academia nuts and La Raza adherents. It is, however, a minor annoyance in the overall picture of AZ life.
They’ve managed to turn themselves into the armpit of our state.
More like the stinking diseased crotch of our state.
These days I don’t even call it Tucson, just “Lil’ ‘Frisco”.
The priority is clear — illegal border jumpers must be protected, even at the risk of the lives of American and legal immigrant children.
Because the country is no longer operated for its citizens and legal immigrants. It is operated by and for criminals.
Correct.
We have perenial court battles in Texas because the state under funds the El Paso schools assuming (correctly) that a percentage of students are actually from Ciudad Juarez. The argument eventually is would you rather see them educated here or there?
Ok, I read it twice, and its clear the SROs are not to ask about immigration status, and never were.
Sounds like Councilwoman Romero is grand standing for the La Raza crowd, and willing to hold up MORE safety to all kids, white, brown, yellow, black, for what…?
Tucson and Phoenix have become the kidnapping capitals of the US, mostly by cartel gangs looking to make easy money preying upon one anothers and other wealthy Mexicans relatives in the US. Who know better than to report it to the cops, or the victim is simply killed. Even once negotiated the odds are 50/50.
If something happens on a Tucson school playground, drug related, or not the cops have to investigate, and SROs are closest to the ground truth.
Politicians in Mexico are thoroughly corrupted by drug money.
Its big busines, and its serious; plato o plomo.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plata_O_Plomo
There may be more here to this story, is all I am saying.
hmmm.this is odd.
http://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/office-burglar-swipes-city-councilwoman-romero-s-computer/article_d8fc2dfb-6fcf-5e07-881b-cced9e3f5345.html
The value of the Compaq-brand computer tower was listed at $1,400.
The value of the files on the hard drive: Priceless.
yeah, just that one PC stolen, hers, out of that whole district office. I’m sure its a coincidence… irrelevant…
Well, if your kid isn’t an illegal alien stealing social services from U.S. citizens, then how would it ever happen that they get deported? I do remember Cheech’s “Born in East L.A.” song from the 80s, but that’s just a song, right? Does the good Councilwoman have any evidence of any non-illegal alien kid being deported from Arizona? Or is her position that Tuscon should be a sanctuary city where crimes against our territorial integrity are not only condoned, but encouraged?
Maybe INS should be looking into HER citizenship status.
No amnesty.
Build the wall now.
English is the official language.
And this is why we moved out to the Vail School District also my eldest daughter gets to take marksmanship in JROTC.
One note – the leading picture is Phoenix PD.
So what happens if they do find an illegal? It’s not like immigration laws are ever enforced. They’d probably just be auto-enrolled in welfare, registered to vote as a democrat and given a full-auto AK by Eric Holder on his way out.
I still can’t get over the fact that AZ passed that law which allowed cops to ask someone’s immigration status. And super baffled that the supreme court let some of it stand. As far as I’m concerned, it is a none of any cop’s business. That’s the job of border patrol, and only border patrol. The sad thing is that after it happened I started to boycott Arizona, and now I can only drool over all the Rugers I can’t have.
Anyhow, If they are serious about having an officer in the schools for the purposes of safety, then they shouln’t have any problem with agreeing to this, since the ability to ask immigration status has no bearing on student safety. Which leads me to believe that safety isn’t the reason.
My default position is still that the teachers should be packing.
I read that if we were to remove all illegal aliens from Maricopa County jails, the jails would be practically empty. If we were suddenly able to remove all illegal immigrants from Arizona and stop the drugs being smuggled across the border, crime in Arizona would be a tiny fraction of what it is today. Arizona has a massive problem with crime directly related to our proximity to the border, illegal immigration, and drug smuggling. With Border Patrol and ICE being ordered to ignore illegal immigration, it is getting increasingly more dangerous. If Arizona police are to have any chance at curtailing this influx of crime, they need to be able to stop it at the source.
Don’t like Arizona, than suck it up when illegal aliens start swarming your state and dragging down your public resources. All while they publically demand it from you and supporters call you “racist” for questioning it.
You don’t need a ruger, you need a dose of reality.
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