The Voice - Student Newspaper

Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Is his tough too tough for Arizona?

By Mary Allan
Reporter, The VOICE

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's ability to conduct immigration sweeps has been eliminated.

Last week, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) informed Arpaio that his deputies have been relieved of their duties as ICE agents with federal immigration authority.

Two years ago, Arpaio signed an agreement (287(g)) with the Bush DHS department to allow his deputies to enforce federal immigration law by identifying and detaining suspected illegal aliens.

Early this year Janet Napolitano, the DHS Secretary, sent a memo to her department instructing them to perform a thorough review of immigration enforcement and border security.

On Oct. 6, the Feds decided to cancel the (287(g)) agreement with Arpaio. Although many critics suspect the reasons for the cancellation there has been no official statement as to why this happened. The Feds will not comment on the case until after Oct. 14 when certain legal issues have been resolved. There are plenty of opinions as to why Arpaio is being targeted.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee released a letter calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct a federal investigation of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's enforcement tactics. Somos America, a Latino community-based coalition, and five individuals sued Arpaio, Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) and Maricopa County, in July 2008.

They claimed that they and their members were unlawfully stopped and mistreated by law enforcement agents because they were Latino.

In addition, according to AZCentral, "Already under investigation by the DOJ, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio now also faces a congressional hearing into complaints that deputies are discriminating against Latinos while enforcing immigration laws."

In Arizona and the country, many people are applauding the sanction against Arpaio.

Many groups have been protesting his actions for years. Long time opponent, Civil rights activist Salvador Reza, has announced a march for Friday, October 16, beginning at the Wells Fargo building downtown, and stopping at the Federal Courthouse and the Fourth Avenue Jail.

Please send comments to mallan@gccvoice.com