Street cops know Arpaio's plan is working

Arizona Republic columnist E.J. Montini, after conversing with two anonymous Phoenix police officers as well as the head of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, has come around to the conclusion to which virtually all reasonable people have already arrived - that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's policy of strictly enforcing immigration laws in his county has put a serious dent in Phoenix's crime rate.

"Or as one of Phoenix officers put it, "The fact is, since our department has allowed officers to partner with ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), our jobs have gotten easier. The streets are a little safer. And we (the officers) are a little safer. And honestly, Arpaio's policy is what helped us to get our new policy."

If the regular beat cops patrolling the streets are noticing and appreciating the difference that immigration enforcement makes, that has to mean that the sheriff is onto something worthwhile. Just how much of a difference are Arpaio's policies making?

"'We had the president of the Border Patrol union in here recently,' [PLEA president Mark] Spencer told me. 'He reported to us that apprehensions at the border have gone down 24 percent. Well, we look at that here and we see a correlation. (Mayor) Phil Gordon just said at the State of the City address - and he's correct - that violent crimes in the city of Phoenix have gone down 24 percent. Stolen vehicles in the city of Phoenix have gone down 27 percent. So, we see that as a real common sense connection.'" (Emphasis mine)

If those numbers aren't enough to convince the illegal alien apologists, how about this story out of southern Arizona, in which out of 80 illegal migrants that comprised a group arrested by the Border Patrol near Douglas, Arizona, 21, or a full 25%, already had criminal records in the U.S., "including one convicted of vehicular manslaughter in California."

That percentage jibes almost exactly with the reported rate that serious crime has fallen in the Phoenix area. Coincidence? Doubtful.

Of course, U.S. Representative John Conyers didn't hear this good news in his Judiciary Committee hearing today that purported to "investigate" Sheriff Arpaio's policies, since Conyers didn't even bother to invite Arpaio to participate, instead inviting only critics of the sheriff's job performance. The liberal Democrats who run that committee aren't interested in facts, though. They only wish to demonize those who wish to preserve our nation's borders and control immigration to those who wish to come here legally.