Sheriff takes illegal immigration sweeps west

by Veronica Sanchez - Aug. 14, 2008 06:09 AM
12 News

Last week, he promised he's do things differently and he did.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio vowed to stop illegal immigrants but this time he went west to the Surprise and El Mirage area. His first ever human smuggling and illegal immigration operation in the west Valley began around 4 p.m. Wednesday. By 5 p.m. Latino activists claimed deputies had rounded up at least three illegal immigrants.

Deputies at first were vague about the location of the sweeps, but activists and Surprise police officers told us the target area was along the US 60 Grand Avenue, District 3 section between El Mirage and Surprise. That area included Sun City, which has been supportive of the sheriffs stance on illegal immigration.

The sheriff says he used thousands of dollars to conduct his sweep with private donations after the Governor Janet Napolitano took away his funding. Illegal immigrants we spoke to said they were fearful of the deputies and many opted to stay home.

Gordon asks media to watch Arpaio's immigration sweeps

by Jerry Kammer - Jul. 30, 2008 12:00 AM
Republic Washington Bureau

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon escalated his feud with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Tuesday, calling on the national media to come to the Valley and observe the sheriff's crackdown on illegal immigration.

Criticizing the sweeps as heavy-handed and abusive, Gordon said he'd like to see a media mobilization comparable to the effort of the dozens of reporters who streamed to Arizona from around the country following the 1976 murder of Arizona Republic investigative reporter Don Bolles.

Their effort, which became known as the Arizona Project, produced extensive reporting on organized crime in the state.

"Come like you did for Don Bolles; come to Phoenix and stop this madness," said Gordon, who has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to launch a civil-rights investigation. "Let's turn the eyes of the nation on this."

Gordon wants to focus attention on the department's sweeps, in which deputies check vehicles and pedestrians in a search for illegal immigrants. The measures have been widely criticized as a form of racial profiling.

Arpaio fired back in a telephone interview from Phoenix.

"He doesn't have to call (on the media), because they're here every day," Arpaio said. "I've been on 3,000 national shows as sheriff. I had two different Dutch reporters yesterday. They come all the time. ... I don't need him to be my press agent."

The Gordon-Arpaio feud is a particularly volatile example of the tensions dividing communities across the country that are frustrated by the inability of Congress to pass immigration reform.

In the absence of a new federal policy, state and local jurisdictions are fashioning their own approaches to enforce immigration law.

8 suspected illegal immigrants face fraud charges after raid

The Associated Press

PHOENIX — Sheriff's deputies say they've arrested eight suspected illegal immigrants on fraud charges for allegedly using forged documents or stolen identities to get jobs at two amusement parks in metropolitan Phoenix.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says the fraud bust might lead to a case under the state's employer sanctions law if deputies can prove the amusement parks operators knew they were hiring illegal immigrants.

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas says authorities didn't yet have a sanctions case resulting from the raid Tuesday morning at Golfland Entertainment locations in Mesa and north Phoenix.

Hispanic lawmakers question sweeps

LAUREN PROPER

Published: 04.18.2008

A group of Hispanic state lawmakers called Thursday for a federal civil rights investigation of sweeps by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office that have led to arrests of dozens of illegal immigrants.

"There can be no disagreement with the fact that violations of people's rights are not acceptable and clearly unconstitutional," said Rep. Ben Miranda, D-Phoenix.

Accusing sheriff's officials of racial profiling, Miranda and other members of the group said at a news conference they had sent a letter asking U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey to investigate.

In recent weeks, sheriff's deputies and posse members have conducted what they refer to as saturation patrols in areas with large populations of illegal immigrants, drawing protests from immigrant rights advocates and civil rights groups.

Earlier this month, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon sent a letter asking the FBI and Justice Department to investigate the sweeps, ordered by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Members of the Arizona Latino Legislative Caucus, all of them Democrats, said Arpaio is using the patrols to grab election-year headlines.

Illegal worker arrested for ID theft

Arrest part of sheriff's illegal-hires crackdown

by Craig Harris - Apr. 18, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

A dairy worker, who authorities say spent the past six years working at a Laveen farm under a fake name, was arrested Thursday as part of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's crackdown on illegal workers.

The Sheriff's Office has made at least eight arrests this year since a new employer-sanctions law regarding illegal workers went into effect. However, no Maricopa County employers have been cited.

"We don't have enough evidence to hold any employers responsible yet," Arpaio said. "But we have cases in the hopper. We want to do the right thing. I am very pro-business."

The Legal Arizona Workers Act, which went into effect Jan. 1, gives the state authority to suspend or revoke the business license of any employer found to have knowingly or intentionally hired an illegal immigrant.

Lawmakers invite sheriff to Southeast Valley cities

by Senta Scarborough and Megan Boehnke - Apr. 4, 2008 01:29 PM

The Arizona Republic

Eight legislators have jumped into the debate over Sheriff Joe Arpaio's crackdown on illegal immigrants, inviting the sheriff to expand his enforcement efforts into Southeast Valley cities.

The letter was sent Thursday, the same day Arpaio brought his deputies and posse to Guadalupe in the most recent sweep.

Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, and other state legislators from Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert signed the letter, saying illegal immigrants have "imposed a tremendous economic burden on taxpayers and contribute to some of the most violent criminal activity in the state."

The letter cites the Chandler Rapist case and the murder of Phoenix Police Officer Nick Erfle as examples of crimes they say were committed by illegal immigrants.

"Law enforcement can no longer sit on the sidelines and be a spectator to the destruction of the Rule of Law and the degradation of our streets and neighborhoods," according to the letter provided by Barrett Marson, Arizona House of Representatives Director of Communication.

America's Toughest Sheriff Cracks Down on Illegal Street Criminals

By Tom Fitton
FrontPageMagazine.com | Friday, February 01, 2008

Judicial Watch has been working together with Maricopa County (AZ) Sheriff Joe Arpaio to impose a law and order solution to the illegal immigration problem in Phoenix, Arizona. Last summer, Judicial Watch lodged a complaint with Sheriff Arpaio on behalf of small businesses, organized as the 36th and Thomas Business Coalition, who were victimized by illegal aliens regularly trespassing on their property. (Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon had abandoned the needs of Phoenix businesses, allowing the illegal immigration problem to spiral out of control.) Sheriff Arpaio, also known as "America's Toughest Sheriff," responded, leading to the arrest of six illegal aliens.

Now, with the help of Judicial Watch, small businesses in Phoenix called upon Sheriff Arpaio in a letter dated January 25, 2008, to tackle the problem of illegal immigration street crime.

When illegal aliens cross the border into the United States, they bring with them all manner of social problems, including trespassing, solicitation, loitering, drug dealing, sexual harassment, public urination and defecation. Unfortunately, the Phoenix Police Department routinely ignores the street crime problem, responding very selectively to only the most egregious crimes that simply cannot be ignored due to violence or loss of property. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, led by Sheriff Arpaio, is the only law enforcement agency enforcing both federal and state immigration laws in Arizona.