A clear job description for a chief of police involves communicating honestly and competently. When police managers allow politics to shape public messaging, chaos increases, accountability disappears, and public confidence erodes. Recent statements by Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano regarding immigration enforcement illustrate why political messaging and police management don’t mix well.
In November 2024, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs stated that state law enforcement would not participate in what she called “misguided efforts” related to federal immigration enforcement. Her indifference to the rule of law was unambiguous.
Against this backdrop, Giordano made several public statements in July 2025 asserting that the Police Department had no role in immigration enforcement. He stated that Phoenix police “don’t do immigration enforcement,” would not ask about immigration status, and would not engage in immigration enforcement activities with federal authorities. He further suggested that immigration enforcement was outside the department’s purview and that officers would not be involved in such matters moving forward.
Those comments conveyed a clear message to taxpayers: the Phoenix Police Department was disengaged from immigration-related enforcement. However, when Judicial Watch submitted a public records request seeking documents supporting or explaining those statements, the City of Phoenix, nearly one year later, produced records that appeared to tell a different story.
According to the city, extensive searches of department records—including thousands of pages of emails, directives, training materials, bulletins, and other documents—failed to uncover any records implementing or memorializing the chief’s public position. No policies, operation orders, or internal communications were found that reflected his sweeping statements made to the media.
More troubling, the records that were produced appear to conflict with several of Giordano’s public claims. Operations Order 6.6.00 states that departmental policy “will not limit the enforcement of federal and state immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by law.” The policy also outlines circumstances under which officers are required to contact ICE to verify immigration status pursuant to Arizona Revised Statute §11-1051.
The policy further requires officers to make reasonable efforts to contact ICE when reasonable suspicion exists that a lawfully detained person is unlawfully present in the U.S. It also establishes procedures for cooperation with ICE involving arrests, immigration holds, and transfers of custody. Those requirements are difficult to reconcile with Giordano’s public statements that Phoenix police have “no role” in immigration matters.
It’s alarming when a highly paid manager with a badge and a gun appears unable—or unwilling—to clearly explain the policies and laws officers are responsible for adhering to and enforcing. Giordano’s public statements conflict with written directives and state law. Taxpayers are left wondering what they’re paying for. Are officers expected to follow administrative policy or political agendas? Is the priority of the police manager serving the public or playing to the crowd?
The records released by the City of Phoenix suggest a troubling disconnect between a manager’s rhetoric and operational reality. If departmental policies remain in force and require cooperation with ICE under certain circumstances, Giordano’s public statements suggesting otherwise are, at best, misguided and inaccurate. At worst, they resemble political advocacy disguised as official policy.
Hired police managers should be guided by law, rules, and transparency—not agendas of elites. When politics drives police messaging, consistency disappears. And when consistency disappears, quality of life is the next casualty.
The law says you can’t be here illegally. Enforce all the laws or we’ll find someone else who can.