The Latest on Arpaio
July 14, 2009 - Arizona Republic: Editorial - Will the sheriff follow federal rules as written?
July 14, 2009 - Gainesville Times: Change coming to immigration enforcement
July 13, 2009 - America's Voice: 287(g) Needs to be Fixed and Focused First
July 14, 2009 - Arizona Republic: Arpaio suggests raiding Mesa after comments by mayor's wife
July 13, 2009 - Arizona Republic: Critics still want Arpaio's immigration efforts halted
Electrified Holding Pens for Immigrants?
On February 4th, 2009, Joe went on a rampage. He rounded up immigrant detainees and forced them to march, shackled, to a segregated "tent city" surrounded by electric fences in the Arizona desert. The Maricopa County office announced the project in a statement entitled, "Arpaio Orders Move of Hundreds of Illegal Aliens to Their Own Tent City."
America's Voice believed that Joe's publicity stunt crossed the line.
Apparently, so did 40,000 activists, the House Judiciary Committee, and the Department of Justice. We joined with human and civil rights advocates across the country to get Arpaio investigated, but now he is refusing to cooperate! This is an outrage.
More background on Sheriff Arpaio:
Immigration Policy Center: the high cost of the Sheriff's antics
Sheriff Arpaio is down, but he's not out — Sign the Petition Now...
Last week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced big changes to the government program that turns local cops into immigration agents (the "287g" program). The changes are a start, but they haven't stopped Sheriff Joe's dangerous and racist antics. Now Joe is refusing to cooperate with the Justice Department!
Tell Secretary Napolitano to stop supporting Sheriff Joe and his tactics.
Sign the petition, now, and please forward it to your friends!
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Full Petition Text to Secretary Napolitano
Sheriff Arpaio’s abuse of his “287g” authority is well documented. And Arpaio’s flagrant disregard for civil rights, and practices of racial profiling have been the subject of countless news stories, Congressional hearings and even Federal investigations.
On July 10, 2009, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a new Memorandum of Agreement for all participants in the 287g program. We believe that the new guidelines you have outlined leave no room for doubt that the Department of Homeland Security should revoke Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s 287g agreement immediately. While there are many reasons for making that decision, two core arguments are:
1) Sheriff Arpaio is operating in clear violations of the new requirement, announced by your Agency, that all law enforcement agencies be bound by all Federal civil rights laws, guidelines and guidance relating to non-discrimination.
2) Sheriff Joe Arpaio has refused to cooperate with an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department practice of racial profiling and civil rights abuses.
While many of us agree with law enforcement leaders around the country that the 287g program is so deeply flawed that it must be either terminated outright or fundamentally redrawn – we can all agree that the Federal government must not delegate their responsibilities to local elected officials, like Sheriff Arpaio, who openly abuse their authority.
The new guidelines released by your office provide unambiguous grounds for the termination of your 287g agreement with Sheriff Joe Arpaio. We urge you to take immediate steps to bring this nightmare to an end.