SALT LAKE CITY -- Chiefs of Police from around the country, including Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank, will meet Wednesday with U.S. Attorney General Mark Holder to talk about their concerns surrounding Arizona's controversial immigration law.

The law requires that police officers question people about their immigration status if they have reason to believe those people are in the country illegally.

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Burbank is among a number of police executives concerned that the law will drive a wedge between the community and police and damage relations many departments have been working to improve.

Burbank was not available for comment Tuesday, but his office confirmed he is traveling to Washington, D.C., for the Wednesday meeting.

On May 2, Burbank reacted to talk of a similar law in Utah.

"We're going to ask our police officers to do something that, in my mind, questions or falls close to being unconstitutional," Burbank said.

He continued, "Any time that we engage in policing based on race, based on ethnicity, language, gender -- there is a whole list of things -- but if we are taking enforcement action using those as criteria for taking different enforcement action with different people, well then that's wrong."

Burbank will be joined by three police chiefs from Arizona -- including the Phoenix and Tucson chiefs, as well as John Harris of Sahuarita, who is president of Arizona's Association of Police Chiefs.

Police chiefs from the Los Angeles and San Jose California police departments will attend, as well as police chiefs from Philadelphia, Houston, Minneapolis and Montgomery County, Md.

"It's an honor for our city to have him represent us in an important policy issue like this," Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker said Tuesday.

The mayor is on the same page as Burbank when it comes to this immigration law. Both Burbank and Becker feel the law would divide a city and make policing difficult.

"Our first job, first and foremost, is to protect our community and have people feel secure and safe in our community, and to do that without discriminating," Becker said.

Meanwhile, state Rep. Steve Sandstrom, R-Orem, has filed a bill in Utah similar to Arizona's. Lawmakers in about a dozen other states are doing the same.

Sandstrom says there are a lot of police agencies, including many in Arizona, who support the law. He said it gives them another tool to help them do their job to enforce the law.

Supporters of the effort say a law is needed to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States.

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Story compiled with contributions from Marc Giauque and Nicole Gonzales.

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