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Feds Rein In Fiery Sheriff on Immigration Checks

Joe Arpaio calls officials 'liars,' vows to continue sweeps

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 7, 2009 9:44 AM CDT
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(Newser) – The self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff in America” was not pleased. Homeland Security yesterday stripped Joe Arpaio’s deputies of the power to make immigration arrests in the field as though they were ICE agents, sending the flamboyant Phoenix-area cop into a sputtering, rambling outburst, the New York Times reports. “I’m going to continue doing everything I’ve been doing!” Arpaio vowed, declaring himself free of “the federal government and their Mickey Mouse policies!”

He also called the feds “liars,” and called the move part of a political “conspiracy” against him. Arpaio’s sheriff’s department is the most prominent of 66 agencies Homeland Security’s authorized to make immigration arrests. But critics say he’s a crackpot, prone to racial profiling and other abuses of an already oft-abused system. Still, Homeland Security did renew Arpaio’s authority to perform immigration checks on those already in jail.

In this July 23, 2009 picture, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio walks through the command center area at the sheriff's district 1 substation in Mesa, Ariz.
In this July 23, 2009 picture, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio walks through the command center area at the sheriff's district 1 substation in Mesa, Ariz.   (AP Photo/East Valley Tribune, Ralph Freso)
In this July 23, 2009 picture, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio gives a news conference in Mesa, Ariz. after a day of crime suppression sweeps through the East Valley.
In this July 23, 2009 picture, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio gives a news conference in Mesa, Ariz. after a day of crime suppression sweeps through the East Valley.   (AP Photo/East Valley Tribune, Ralph Freso)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 26 comments
bewilderbeast
Oct 8, 2009 12:12 PM CDT
Yeah, jayster, military solutions have worked SO WELL for you. Like shocking and awe-ing tiny, poor, weak Iraq with your huge, rich, overwhelmingly superior might. Oh, but you forgot to learn their language or discover what makes them tick. YEARS later we're still waiting to be shocked and awed. It's pathetic, really. You know NOTHING about your southern neighbour, but you hate them deeply. It's just so sad and stupid. Learn Spanish, embrace them, develop them, join forces. (Cuba too). One distant day you'll read the words "The pen is mightier than the sword" and a penny will drop.
bewilderbeast
Oct 8, 2009 12:06 PM CDT
Suckass, that's what I SAID: Your family were once immigrants (and while you now want a clear distinction between "legal" and "illegal", the POINT is America needs immigrants. Embrace them, welcome them, integrate them. Hate is so dumb. Rather do something smart. Realise that your kids and grankids have to live in a world where America is NOT the richest country. Don't create more enemies for them. Enough already!
bewilderbeast
Oct 8, 2009 12:00 PM CDT
Jayster: Open your ears and your mind: Immigrants are a net WIN for your country. They contribute more than they cost. America is on its way down and without new blood that process will accelerate. America the beautiful NEEDS new people who know how to work, who can drive with less than 302cu inches under the hood, who don't spend their days whining, and who appreciate a good thing when they see it. That is not BS.

 
Arizona • Phoenix • illegal immigration • Homeland Security • Joe Arpaio

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