Legal Commentary

Sheriff Joe's Latest Immigration Stunt

By Jeralyn

I could leave his name out of the article, but by now you'd all know who he is: AZ most reprehensible Sheriff, Joe Arpaio. Here's what he's up to now:

Months ago, Arpaio and his deputies began scouring Hispanic neighborhoods in the Phoenix area looking for illegal immigrants. So far, hundreds have been hauled away.

Often in these types of operations, "probable cause" gets defined as brown skin and Spanish accents. So, there is no telling how many U.S.-born Hispanics were detained and harassed in the process.

All of which sets the stage for the stunt. The man who put inmates in pink underwear and fed them green bologna has some people in Arizona seeing red after he recently paraded about 200 illegal immigrants in shackles and prison stripes to his notorious "Tent City." Of course, Arpaio did this after alerting the media.

The inmates are to stay in the tents until sentenced and deported. That's right. They haven't been convicted or sentenced yet. But in Maricopa County, the little things need not interfere with punishment.

Is former AZ top cop, now Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano going to rein him in? I wouldn't put money on it.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 13, 2009 (boomark / email).