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TechnoratiPhoenix Mayor Asks FBI To Check Sheriff Over Immigration Detentions
PHOENIX, AZ - The mayor wants the FBI to investigate whether the local county sheriff has violated any civil rights laws with his recent high-profile crackdowns on illegal immigrants.
The "saturation patrols" have drawn protests from civil rights and immigrant-rights advocates, but they have drawn support from backers of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and from people who believe the government hasn't done enough against illegal immigration.
In an April 4 letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Mayor Phil Gordon asked the agency and the Justice Department's civil rights division to examine what he called discriminatory harassment and improper stops, searches, and arrests by sheriff's deputies in Maricopa County, which encompasses the metropolitan area.
"Over the past few weeks, Sheriff Arpaio's actions have infringed on the civil rights of our residents," Gordon wrote. "They have put our residents' well-being, and the well-being of law enforcement officers, at risk."
Justice Department officials said they would review Gordon's letter but declined to comment further.
Arpaio said it's ironic that Gordon wrote the letter the same day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials observed his deputies arresting residents and illegal immigrants in the town of Guadalupe and approved of the sheriff's work.
"I think the mayor is disconnected from the people he represents and he doesn't get the point," Arpaio said Saturday. "Now he's going to Washington to confuse the issue and try to get the public against me."
The mayor "is degrading my office and my deputies by insinuating that they're violating all these civil laws. We don't profile," the sheriff said.
In the past month, sheriff's deputies and trained volunteers have gone into neighborhoods with large Hispanic populations, stopping people for routine traffic violations and asking some of them about their immigration status. Dozens of illegal immigrants have been detained.
ICE officials say Arpaio is not violating the formal agreement he has with their office that allows sheriff's deputies to enforce immigration laws.
Last week, the Arizona Ecumenical Council and American Jewish Committee issued a joint letter saying the patrols "evoked a 'police state' atmosphere" and led to "detainment on the basis of a racial profile and dehumanization of innocent people."
They were joined Friday by the Arizona chapter of the Anti-Defamation League, which echoed calls for a Justice Department investigation.
© 2008 Associated Press
12 Comments so far
Show AllI'm constantly appalled and embarrassed by people who, while avidly defending their rights deny others the very same. Calling a person a racist - redneck - Fascist - seems to be just fine if they don't agree with your far left agenda.
Joe is a grandstander and may be aiming for higher office, but his outlandish yet quite legal methods have yielded great results, with a decrease in traffic, crime, emergency room wait times and much more.
He may very well have a personality the far left finds odious, but as a moderate voter, I can see that he follows and applies the law equally - go Joe!
Illegal immigrants are by definition, criminals and they choose to put their families at risk. If you get busted and sent home, try coming back in legally.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio
Lou Dobbs is also a hypocrite who is unable to speak clearly. Supposedly, he is an "independent" when he sides with Republicans most of the time. A little more neutrality between the Democrat and Republican please Lou? If not, just state that you are a Republican - which you clearly are.
Lou Dobbs and Joe Arpaio (racists to the core! It is fine to be racist, but if so say so - no need to pretend) are worthless pieces of shit! I must note here that Mr. Dobbs just happens to be married to a Mexican lady. Dobbs probably married his wife to spare her from deportation while complaining about illegal immigration and offering solutions that are unrealistic; then not showing any gratitude for their economic contributions to your pathetic nation. I would defecate and urinate in both of their mouths if I could.
Lou Dobbs hails this Arpaio character as some sort of national hero and trashes the Mayor of Phoenix. Arpaio is a sick man who has no business in law enforcement. He is a pervert who has a fetish with pink underwear and he imposes his fetish on people who are caught up in the Maricopa County jail system. Then on top of that he is terrorizing people by recruiting these red neck posses. Mexicans have a moral duty to take back Aztlan from these gringo creeps.
Hey banjoman, you're wrong. Arpaio does NOT "rehibilitate" (I think you meant rehabilitate). Recidivism is virtually unchanged since he's been sheriff. In addition, Maricopa County has had to pay out millions to the survivors of inmates (most of them awaiting trial, not even convicted of anything) who have died in his "care."
Power Slave: did you actually take the time to READ my comment? Or maybe you really don't know how to read, or understand what you read? Or for that matter do you even have a rudimentary understanding of immigrant labor's economic impact on the US economy? No, you don't, given your bass-ackwards bizarre comments. If anything, my position is in support of giving Mexican immigrants at the very least a work permit, or at most citizenship--and a decent living wage. Duh! The whole point of immigrant labor picking our grapes and produce in the US west is that dumbshit political posers like sheriff Joe Arpaio cynically scapegoat and detain Mexican immigrants--the same folks who keep our economy afloat by working well below minimum wage. Without illegal immigrants picking our produce in USA, the prices for fruit and vegetables would go through the roof. Our economy needs illegal immigrants to function, so it makes no sense to demonize and round them up and stick them in jumpsuits and chaingangs as mr hardass sheriff does.
Folks like 'banjoman' have no need for civil rights, racial/ethnic diversity, civil liberties, or for that matter thinking. Fascists, racists, biggots and scape-goaters like banjoman HAVE to be anti-intellectual: because if they began to actually THINK about racism, illegal immigration, or the USA's prison industrial complex--they would have to CHANGE THEIR MINDS about these issues and admit they were wrong. banjoman should go back to redstate.com where he'll fit right in.
This guy gets results, and he "rehibilitates" as well. No one wants to go back to him.
Do the crime, do the time.
Keep it up, Sherriff.
He gets re-elected, too.
You people are AGAINST everything good and decent. You say, "bring in all these illegals, (just not in my neighborhood). You KNOW it's true, by golly!!
your friend, banjoman
PS. Hard to believe so many spoiled brats flock to one place all the time.
Allow me to tell you about this waste of space on this planet. This man is a violator of human rights. For the most petty misdemeanors, prisoners must wear PINK jumpsuits, sleep in tents in 110 to 120 degree temperatures and forced to watch only Disney cartoons. This Arpaio SOB thinks he is better than anyone else and feels that he can do these human violations (remember Mr. Arpaio - prisoners and foreigners are human beings too...A*******!) and get away with it. He is also a racist against people he should not be racist towards. He needs to be tried in ICC.
Divide and conquer! It works every time!
Sheriff Joke, as he is referred to in Phoenix, is a true fascist, has been terrorizing us for years. The sweeps he has been conducting lately are the next step and, as Zamboni warns, probably just a warmup of things to come. The really scary thing is that so many racists have crawled out from under their rocks and it seems to be socially acceptable by a great many here! I have to hand it to Mayor Phil Gordon for speaking out against Sheriff Joke. I didn't know he had it in him.
Oh, no. This assh*le again. "Sheriff Hardass" milking the old WASP fears and prejudices for all the political posturing and gains he can muster. Not to mention acting like a caricature extreme "hardass"--obviously for more media whoring and PR exposure. It's guys like this who turn so many off of the modern day politics-turned-circus we have on our hands at both the national and local levels. Chaingangs in 3-stooges style black and white jumpsuits! Jesus christ. It's ye olde "scapegoat the mexicans" (instead of really dealing with or admitting to our problems) rebublican mime again...they use it endlessly. Works like a charm and they kicks the dimocrat's butts over and over again. Joe Arpio for president. I can see it now...GW Bush was just a warmup for this guy :D
Ever since the high and mighty republican party decided to scapegoat immigrants, this kind of crap has been going on.
The Gop has certain segments of the polulation completely convinced that immigrants are responsible for everything that's wrong with the US. Me; I think it's republicans.