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The political heat is rising over city policy on turning undocumented immigrants over to the feds.

After the city earlier this week clarified its policy on police inquiries about immigration status, the state Republican Party began auto-dialing thousands of city residents, asking them to protest the stance.

Now City Councilor Brad Winter is set to introduce his own measure on immigration policy, while immigration rights advocates are saying Republicans are trying to rile up the community.

Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz earlier this week clarified his department's procedures, which say officers can ask about a person's immigration status only if they are a crime suspect or in custody and the person's status is pertinent to the crime.

The policy also says police are not required to notify federal immigration officials or call them to an investigation, unless the crime is human trafficking.

The announcement stemmed from settlement of a 2005 lawsuit that accused Albuquerque Police Department of detaining three high school students until they could be questioned by immigration officials.

Winter said on Aug. 16 that he'll introduce a bill that would have police notify immigration officials of suspects or people in custody if police believe they are in the country without permission.

His measure would amend the city's immigrant-friendly policy, which he and eight other councilors signed in 2001. Among other things, that policy says "no municipal resources shall be used to identify individual's immigration status or apprehend persons on the sole basis of immigration status, unless otherwise required by law to do so."

In a written statement this week, Winter said that resolution was passed unanimously "to protect the rights of immigrants and was never intended to make Albuquerque a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants who commit crimes."

APD's standard operating procedure says officers don't have the authority to hold people suspected of violating federal immigration laws.

Under Winter's proposal, for people in custody or who are suspected of a crime, officers would "take reasonable steps to identify that person's immigration status and shall immediately notify federal immigration officials if they suspect that person is not lawfully in the United States."

Chavez denounced Winter's move as political.

"I guess he's worried about his re-election," he said.

Winter faces challenger Paulette d‚ Pascal in the Oct. 2 municipal election.

"It is incredibly hypocritical on his part, and frankly he ought to be ashamed of himself," the mayor said.

Winter didn't return calls seeking comment on Aug. 16, but said in the statement that Chavez had "gone too far" with the city policy. "We can't turn a blind eye to criminals who are in the country illegally," he said.

Chavez, who has created an exploratory committee that could be used to seek the Democratic party nomination for governor in 2010, said it's not up to city police to enforce federal immigration law, but that APD officers investigate all crimes, regardless who commits them.

"If someone gets stopped and it's a crime, you better believe APD is going to investigate and find out everything they can about the person, including their citizenship," he said.

The city policy has the state Republican Party animated, as well. On Aug. 16, the GOP launched a second round of automated calls denouncing the mayor and urging people to call the Mayor's Office and ask that the policy be rescinded.

"Apparently, Marty Chavez believes attracting criminal illegal immigrants to our neighborhoods is a good idea," a woman's voice says on the recorded message.

Just 10 people had called the Mayor's Office by Aug. 16, according to spokeswoman Deborah James.

Still, party spokesman Scott Darnell said Republicans won't let the issue slide.

"The fact that the city of Albuquerque has become a sanctuary city for criminal illegal aliens is too important of an issue to back off now. Democrat Mayor Marty Chavez should be held responsible for the orders handed to police officers, telling them not to report criminal illegal aliens to federal immigration authorities," he said.

Rachel Lazar, director of El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos, said Republicans were misrepresenting APD's operating procedures.

"This policy will not impede APD's ability to hold criminals — regardless of their immigration status — accountable for crimes that they have committed, nor will it prohibit local officials from calling or cooperating with federal officials when it is pertinent to a criminal investigation," she said.