Here’s how Phoenix Police will carry out President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan

PHOENIX — Phoenix’s top police official stands by the mayor’s promise not to partake in President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans.

Interim Phoenix Police Chief Michael Sullivan said he doesn’t want federal immigration issues to interfere with local law enforcement issues in a Tuesday interview with KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show.

“We’re going to focus on crime,” Sullivan said. “Regardless of immigration status, if there’s criminal behavior that is affecting us here in Phoenix, we have been doing that before and we will be doing that in the future.”

His comments came a day after Trump wrote on social media that he wants to see an end to illegal immigration.

“Nothing is going to change,” Sullivan said. “We work with our federal partners all the time to work on criminal issues, not civil immigration issues. That will continue to be the stance of the Phoenix Police Department.”

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Sullivan stood by Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, who told reporters earlier this month that the city won’t use its police resources to assist in mass deportation efforts.

“I think what the mayor said was what the city went on the path back in 2017,” Sullivan said, referring to the city’s policies during Trump’s first presidential term.

Essentially, he sees the city as doing what it did back then.

“We’re focusing on making sure that criminals are held accountable regardless of what their immigration status is,” Sullivan said.

Furthermore, even if Phoenix Police wanted to aid the Trump administration in deporting people, staffing issues would render that difficult.

In fact, the department is currently short 600 officers, Sullivan said.

“Immigration is a federal responsibility,” he said. “I don’t think Phoenicians want us to pull people away from the very important work of keeping the public safe here in Phoenix.”

Trust is an essential tool to keeping the public safe, he added.

“It’s important for us to have the confidence of those communities that we’re trying to keep safe,” Sullivan said. “I’ve been out in the community this past weekend and seeing the fear that’s out there in some communities because of what’s being said nationally.”

When the threat of deportation hangs over people and their families, that can cause breakdowns in communication, he added.

“It’s important for us,” Sullivan said. “If we’re going to provide public safety that we have trust and we have people report crimes to us.”