AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Governor Rick Perry says Arizona’s tough new illegal immigration law wouldn’t be right for Texas.
A new law in Arizona requires local and state law enforcement to question people about their immigration status if there’s reason to suspect they’re in the country illegally. The law also makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally.
Perry said Thursday that such a law would turn law enforcement officers into immigration officials by requiring them to determine immigration status.
He says the extra duty would take law officers “away from their existing law enforcement duties, which are critical to keeping citizens safe.”