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“When we come across illegal aliens, we arrest them,” Arpaio said. “That’s the part they don’t like, and that’s the one they took away.”

Arpaio claims that more than 30,000 individuals have been identified as illegal aliens since his department signed on with ICE in 2007.

He also claims that even without the 287(g), federal law allows state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce immigration laws if probable cause exists.

“Federal law does expressly authorize state and local police to make immigration arrests of previously deported felons who return to the United States and are in the country unlawfully,” Kobach said.

“That federal statute is found at 8 U.S.C. 1252c. In addition, as the U.S. Department of Justice officially recognized in 2002, state and local police possess the inherent authority to arrest illegal aliens and detain them briefly in order to transfer them to federal custody,” Kobach added.

“Those are two forms of arrest authority that Sheriff Arpaio possesses, apart from Section 287(g) authority,” Kobach said.

Arpaio said that the law usually isn’t enforced, but he would like to change that.

“You know what?” Arpaio said. “I’m going to start enforcing that law.”

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Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Hello,

For the benefit of rational people who may visit this thread, I will elucidate what all of the noise is about here in Arizona.

The Sheriff instituted several measures to catch illegal aliens. Many of these I have no problems with. For instance, all people who visited inmates at the prison had their identity checked. If they were found to be illegal aliens, they were arrested. This seems sound to me.

Another program checked the identity of all persons arrested in Maricopa. A prudent measure. If they were found to be illegal aliens, they were held until they could be processed by INS.

Unfortunately, he also instituted a program of stopping, questioning, and detaining 'suspected' illegal immigrants. This led to a phenomenon known as 'Driving While Brown.' Or 'Standing Around While Brown.' Or my favorite, 'Breathing While Brown.' That is, Literal racial profiling of anyone who looked like they might be Mexican, and weren't dressed with the proper identifiers of affluence.

You will doubtless hear PirateNews now begin to condemn the actions of this Sheriff, and confess that whatever good he may accomplish, it is not worth the violation of Civil Rights and Liberties.

*crickets*

--Anthony


"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

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