The police chief of Arizona's largest city said on Friday the state's controversial new crackdown on illegal immigrants would likely create more problems than it solved for local law enforcement.

The remarks by Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris came as U.S. Senate Democrats vowed to push ahead with their uphill bid to pass legislation this year overhauling the nation's immigration laws, saying the furor in Arizona has given them a lift despite a lack of support from Republicans.

Arizona's week-old law calls for state and local police to check the immigration status of anyone they suspect is in the United States illegally. It has outraged Latinos, civil rights activists and organized labor.

With polls showing the crackdown has broad public support in Arizona and nationwide, Harris said at a news conference he understood Americans' frustration over illegal immigration.

But he criticized the new law as unlikely to solve problems caused by any of the estimated 10.8 million people who are in the United States illegally.

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