Joe Arpaio Pushes Back On Illegal Immigration Enforcement

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Joe Arpaio Pushes Back On Illegal Immigration Enforcement

Written By : Dan Riehl

When I first noted that the Feds were looking to limit Arpaio’s authority to enforce immigration laws, I said there were State’s Rights issues involved. Looks like Arpaio noticed that, too.

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona sheriff known for cracking down on people who are in the country illegally launched a crime and immigration sweep in northwestern metro Phoenix on Friday, a half day after officials in Washington limited his powers to make federal immigration arrests.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose sweeps have led to allegations of racial profiling, said the rebuff from Washington won’t stop him. He said he can still arrest immigrants under a state smuggling law and a federal law that gives all local police agencies more limited power to detain suspected illegal immigrants.

“It doesn’t bother me, because we are going to do the same thing,” said Arpaio, whose deputies had arrested 16 people by Friday evening on unspecified charges. “I am the elected sheriff. I don’t take orders from the federal government.”

Cross-posted at RWV.

BIG

What has become of our nation? When a sheriff is prohibited from enforcing our laws? I wouldn't be surprised to see the Feds arrest Joe Arpaio.
aharris

You know because Pheonix totally does not have a problem with illegal gangs and narco-cartel members.

/sarcasm

There is a reason why Pheonix is the kidnap capital of the US, and it's not because of American citizens. If I lived in Phoenix, I'd be glad that my local law enforcement on the ground that know the situation are doing whatever they can to address it. This is just more evidence that too much central control from a pack of bureaucrats who don't live the reality they are trying to control is a bad idea all the way around.
http://regularguy regularguy

One of the main questions, I believe, about Arpaio is whether immigration is federal vs. state jurisdiction, and policy over law enforcement. I'm no legal scholar and I'm not familiar with Arizona state law, but completely left out of any debate is that Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be doing Arpaio's work. They're either understaffed, or likely, essentially unable to do this work because of policy. The federal laws are there to go after anyone illegal, but ICE spends its resources to go after criminal aliens (I suspect Arpaio's deputies focus on the same). That's better than nothing given limited resources for ICE. Once in a while, ICE will raid a factory somewhere for a dog and pony show, but that's about it or we'd be hearing more of it. The bottom line is, this fiasco is a manufactured one made by politically connected who have pressured politicians to inhibit bureaucrats in ICE and elsewhere NOT to be able to enforce the law, where policy trumps law enforcement of statutes clearly authorizing such sweeps. Then, you have liberals such as Napolitano who are against such enforcement anyway and need no political pressure otherwise to continue the charade. The policies, however, are clearly in contravention of the statutes, and thus we have this continuing fiasco. The rule of law must prevail before we will end it.