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The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office may be headed for Mesa soon, and the news is being met with equal amounts of celebration and trepidation.

Mesa Police Chief George Gascon had a letter hand-delivered April 7 to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, in which Chief Gascon requested Mesa Police be notified at least two days in advance of the time and location of any planned MSCO anti-immigration sweep – similar to those conducted in Phoenix and Guadalupe – so Mesa Police can adequately redirect its limited resources.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Aaron Douglas said MSCO always notifies law enforcement before entering their locale.

"There isn’t a change of protocol," he said.

Chief Gascon’s letter was sent three days after a letter signed by Arizona State Legislature Reps. Warde Nichols, Steve Yarbrough, Andy Biggs and Eddie Farnsworth and Sen. Chuck Gray – all of whom represent East Mesa – was sent to Sheriff Arpaio asking him to expand his posse patrols to the southeast Valley.

Chief Gascon said he does not know if the East Mesa legislators who requested Sheriff Arpaio’s patrols in the southeast Valley are aware of Mesa’s decreasing crime numbers.

"We certainly do not hide the fact that we’re lowering crime in the city of Mesa," he said.

Mesa native and former East Mesa resident Taylor Searle said he has seen the city’s neighborhood standards decrease steadily as urban sprawl and incoming slums increase.

"I do not want to say for sure that illegal immigration is to blame, but I also don’t want to assume that it has nothing to do with the steady decline that I have witnessed," he said.

Chief Gascon said Mesa Police are not taking political sides, but are concerned anti-illegal immigration sweeps may lead to violence.

"Whether they’re white supremacists or they’re extreme pro-immigration groups, we’re going to be concerned about the two groups," he said.

In his letter to Sheriff Arpaio, Chief Gascon requested MCSO allow for the placement of a Mesa Police command level law enforcement liaison officer within the MCSO’s operations center, and for MCSO to provide Mesa Police with an MCSO law enforcement liaison officer at Mesa Police’s command post.

Mesa Police are also preparing an operational plan with response protocols in the event MCSO operations lead to demonstrations or civil unrest.

As part of this plan, Mesa Police is consulting members of the local clergy and legal community to serve as mediators with crowds and observers, all of which will be videotaped.

"I think thoughtful members of the clergy can have a very calming impact in a situation," Chief Gascon said. "I think that actually using people that have experience in dealing with civil rights issues from the legal side can be very helpful."

He is concerned MSCO officers may be targeting people simply for physical appearance, and even more concerned with what practices officers are being taught as "acceptable."

"Police officers are no different than any other profession – they will act and behave according to their environment and according to the practices that are being allowed," he said.

East Mesa resident Ricardo Rojas thinks fear is the primary purpose of Mr. Arpaio’s enforcement policies.

"They’re stopping people because of their color of skin and it’s really sad," he said.

Mr. Douglas said MCSO does not target anyone in its saturation patrols.

"Those that have broken laws get taken to jail," he explained. "There is no profiling because we are not trying to profile, we’ve never profiled and we don’t plan to profile in the future."

Mr. Rojas – a Native American with Yaqui and Tarahumara roots – thinks it is unfair for U.S. citizens to judge immigrants in a country taken from its native people by European settlers centuries ago.

"Who are the illegal aliens?" he said.

Chief Gascon said Mesa Police will be ready if Sheriff Arpaio alerts them to MSCO’s arrival in two days, but it will not be cost-free.

"If I get a two-day notice, I can minimize some of the overtime expenditure that otherwise I may have to put in, but we will be ready," he said.

Mr. Rojas said many immigrants are taxpaying, law-abiding U.S. citizens, and wishes the MSCO would work out a better enforcement method.

"Give them a chance to do whatever they need to do legally – to interview them and find out if they’re a bad seed or something – and then do something about that, too, but not to be out there hassling and harassing people," he explained.

Mr. Searle does not think Sheriff Arpaio is the problem.

"I love Sheriff Joe, and anything he does to enforce the law," he said.