Free Republic

PHOENIX — The best bet for Republicans to keep the governor’s office would be to choose Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio as the party’s nominee, a new statewide poll shows. According to Rasmussen Reports, a head-to-head race between incumbent Republican Jan Brewer and presumptive Democratic nominee Terry Goddard would result in her ouster. The survey of 1,200 likely voters earlier this month found 44 percent of those asked favor Goddard, currently the state’s attorney general, against 35 percent who said they would vote to give Brewer a term of her own. Also, 9 percent wanted someone else, with the balance...

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is the Republicans’ best shot at holding onto the Arizona governorship in 2010 against likely Democratic candidate Terry Goddard. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Arizona voters finds Arpaio, famed for his crackdowns on illega immigrants, leading Goddard the state’s current attorney general, by 12 points – 51% to 39%. Seven percent (7%) prefer some other candidate, and four percent (4%) are undecided. Embattled incumbent Republican Jan Brewer, who stepped up to the governorship from secretary of stat when Janet Napolitano became secretary of Homelan Security, trails Goddard by nine points – 44% to...

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is the Republicans’ best shot at holding onto the Arizona governorship in 2010 against likely Democratic candidate Terry Goddard. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Arizona voters finds Arpaio, famed for his crackdowns on illegal immigrants, leading Goddard, the state’s current attorney general, by 12 points – 51% to 39%.

HOUSTON | While Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Phoenix gets all the media attention for his crackdown on illegal immigrants, eight deputies in an unremarkable office at the Harris County Jail are posting similar numbers for deportation -- and doing so without controversy. Working two per shift, the deputies refer roughly 1,000 suspected illegal immigrants to federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities every month, helping to make the Southern District of Texas by far the busiest in the nation for illegal-immigration prosecutions. Since joining a federal program in August 2008 that trains local law authorities to enforce immigration law, the...

Sources: FBI Investigating Joe Arpaio Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Actions 'Absolutely Unacceptable,' Former US Attorney Says POSTED: 5:58 pm MST October 29, 2009 UPDATED: 12:12 pm MST October 30, 2009 PHOENIX -- The FBI is looking into accusations that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is using his position to settle political vendettas. Watch: Sheriff Joe Arpaio Abuses Power, Sources Claim Over the past year, 5 Investigates examined more than two dozen complaints against the sheriff from business owners, government workers, mayors and law-enforcement officials.They claim they spoke out against Arpaio, and shortly after, deputies paid them unwelcome visits. Mayor:...

Arpaio for governor? New poll says he has the support Email: dbiscobing@abc15.com Arpaio for governor? Polls say he has the support PHOENIX - Sheriff Joe Arpaio rarely keeps a low profile. Never afraid of attention or controversy and always outspoken, he leaves little unsaid. And that includes a race for governor. "There's an old saying in politics: Never say never," Arpaio said. "I know I would make an excellent governor." Arpaio has not officially announced his candidacy, and he never may. But in recent weeks, he's teased and hinted. It's not the first time. "Twice I've looked into it and...

It must be bizarre for a lawman to be told by the federal government not to do his job, which is to enforce the law. It's especially bizarre when he's the only law enforcement official in the country under such orders. Bizarre, yes – but true. Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., finds himself in just that situation, but he's fighting back, saying he says he's won't comply. The core issue for Arpaio is illegal immigration. His county, which includes Phoenix, is a hotbed of illegal alien activity. He sees dealing with that problem as an important part of...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told CNSNews.com that after reviewing the Memorandum of Agreements between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and state and local law enforcement agencies in 23 states, the only agency to lose its authority under the 287(g) program to operate task forces that can enforce federal immigration laws is the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s the only one,” Matt Chandler, spokesman for the DHS, said on Thursday. Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who oversees the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, is well-known for arresting illegal immigrants to be deported, and his success in catching illegals has been criticized largely...

Regarding a pinata of Sherriff Joe Arpaio.

Earlier this year, a TV reporter in Arizona coaxed Sen. John McCain into a quick on-air game of word association. The reporter would say a word or two, McCain would offer a short response and it all went along well until the reporter said the following words: “Joe Arpaio.” The 2008 Republican presidential nominee, seldom at a loss for words, momentarily went blank. Arpaio — the bombastic Maricopa County sheriff who’s immensely popular with the right but widely reviled by Hispanics for his anti-immigration sweeps — has a long and turbulent history with Arizona’s most famous politician. And now McCain...

Maricopa County (Arizona) Sheriff Joe Arpaio—hailed by many as America’s Sheriff—is under attack for cracking down on illegal aliens. The liberal-left politicians, activists and members of the news media are vilifying Sheriff Arpaio for his department’s immigration and crime sweeps in and around Phoenix. On Friday, government officials with the Homeland Security and Justice Departments stated that the veteran lawman’s deputies could no longer make arrests based on a person’s immigration status. However, during an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” Sheriff Arpaio told viewers that he and his deputies would continue to enforce the law...

Fresh off of the Limbaugh smear, Rick Sanchez tries to bite off more than he can chew again. He compares Arpaio to Bull Connor, but it doesn't work.

Sen. John McCain -- a fervent sponsor of immigration reform -- is once again being dragged into the messy border war of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is defying the Obama administration's ban on his highly controversial illegal immigrant sweeps in the Phoenix area. Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano excluded Arpaio -- reviled by Hispanic advocacy groups for alleged racial profiling-- from a joint federal program that gives local law enforcement agencies the power to dragnet for illegals. McCain's office wouldn't say whether he supported or opposed the move. But late Friday, McCain wrote Napolitano asking for...

SURPRISE, Ariz. — 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.

Department of Homeland Security officials have signed new agreements authorizing nearly 70 state and local law enforcement agencies, including a contentious Arizona sheriff, to help arrest and deport illegal immigrants charged with violent or criminal acts. Under the new agreements, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., who has come under fire for his immigration sweeps, will continue to work with federal authorities when illegal immigrants are booked into his jail. But Sheriff Arpaio's office will not be given the power to arrest such people, as it previously had, federal officials said. As the new agreements were announced, Sheriff Arpaio...

PHOENIX — 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.

SURPRISE, Ariz. — 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...

PHOENIX | The man who likes to call himself "America's toughest sheriff," Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., is planning a Friday showdown with the feds. The sheriff has announced he will defy the U.S. Department of Homeland Security by doing a street sweep for illegal immigrants one day after the expiration of the agreement that has permitted him to conduct such operations for the past three years. The sheriff has said he expects the deal not to be extended, though federal officials have remained publicly noncommittal. Deputies, and Sheriff Arpaio, will stake out an intersection somewhere in the Phoenix...

Love this man.

Mesa, Arizona - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has stripped Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio of his authority to arrest suspected illegal immigrants

USAToday has an article today about Sheriff Joe in Arizona being told by DHS to stop looking for illegals. Also, I posted this story yesterday about the illegals detention facility in Texas being emptied a couple of weeks ago, and illegals transferred into unguarded hotel facilities with free food, and medical care.

The Obama administration is curbing the powers of an Arizona sheriff who has led one of the most contentious fights against illegal immigrants. Under an agreement involving local enforcement of federal immigration law, Sheriff Joe Arpaio's deputies will no longer have the authority to arrest suspected illegal immigrants in the streets in the course of their duty.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio alleged Thursday that a national community activist organization is using federal and state funds to fight his efforts to enforce immigration law. Arpaio sent subpoenas to the local chapter and national headquarters of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, asking for a wide array of records he says will connect the organization to a racial profiling lawsuit he is challenging in federal court. That lawsuit was filed by the immigrant advocacy group Somos America and five Latinos, all of whom are U.S. citizens or are in the country legally, according to...

Federal Judge refuses to certify class action lawsuit against Sheriff Arpaio and his office for alleged racial profiling during saturation patrols. Phoenix, AZ - The United States District Court in Manuel de Jesus Ortega Melendres vs. Arpaio denied the motion to certify the lawsuit for class action treatment against Sheriff Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. The judge determined that the motion failed to present sufficient evidence of the fact that a real and immediate threat of future constitutional injury from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office exists to bring their lawsuit in the form of a class action. The...

A coalition of Latino groups, liberal activists and labor unions have written President Barack Obama asking him to scrap agreements between the federal government and local police departments that allow them arrest illegal immigrants. The groups — which include the American Civil Liberties Union, National Council of La Raza and United Methodist Church — asked Obama to nix 287(g) agreements with local law enforcement agencies. That includes an agreement with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has used that authority to raid businesses suspected of employing undocumented workers, make arrests and pick up suspected illegal immigrants on crime sweeps. U.S....

PHOENIX - One day prior to President Barack Obama's visit to the Valley, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has a message for the president: "I don't believe in amnesty. That's what all this is about." Arpaio says Obama and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano are off the mark when it comes to illegal immigration reform. "Why doesn't he say, "Let's get rid of all the illegals taking these jobs, so our citizens can have the jobs.' Why are they saying that we should only arrest the employer and not the employees that are here illegally? Now, if I...

PHOENIX -- The American Civil Liberties Union is accusing Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his deputies of violating the constitution by arresting two men near a workplace immigration raid. A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges that Julian and Julio Mora's truck was stopped as a result of racial profiling on Feb. 11. Deputies were raiding 66-year-old Julian Mora's employer when they arrested the two men and took them to the company's offices.

Sorry but the story is an Associated Press Story so link only.

In an apparent vendetta against a sheriff in Arizona who is tough on illegal immigration, the Obama administration has crossed another boundary. The treatment of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is yet another sign of the administration's dangerous hyperpoliticization of federal law enforcement. In the course of a wider crime sweep on July 23 and 24 that netted numerous arrests, the sheriff's department requested permission from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain 13 illegal immigrants and transfer them to ICE's custody. The end result, amidst conflicting stories, was that all 13 illegals were let go.

Once again the vendetta by the Obama administration against a tough sheriff in Arizona, Joe Arpaio, who comes down hard on illegal immigrants, is being exposed. The law enforcement official of Maricopa County, as usual, is fighting back.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials ordered a Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff to release dozens of illegal immigrants arrested during a recent sweep. The three-day sweep caught up 74 suspected illegal aliens. However, when the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office called ICE regarding the recently arrested illegal aliens, the agency ordered deputies to release all who did not have a criminal conviction in the U.S. According to a report from Judicial Watch, this constituted a violation of the partnership agreement, known as 287(g), that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department has had with ICE for two years. The mystery order resulted in...

The self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff in America" has never gotten so much resistance from the federal government. The Homeland Security Department wants Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., to stop arresting illegal immigrants whose only crime was crossing the U.S.-Mexico border without documents. The thing is, Arpaio doesn't much care. "I'm not going to bend to the federal government, I'm going to do my job," he said. "I don't report to the federal government, I report to the people." Shifting winds in Washington have led the Homeland Security Department to rework a federal program that has allowed Arpaio's deputies to...

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Saturday he ordered his deputies to tape conversations with federal officials after a dispute over who called for the release of illegal immigrants arrested in a crime sweep. Arpaio said a total of 13 illegal immigrants have been released — three on Thursday and 10 on Friday — after federal officials said their arrests didn’t fit new Department of Homeland Security policies and ordered the deputies to release them. The sheriff’s claim over the releases was initially contradicted by a Homeland Security official. In the recording, multiple tracks detail conversations between deputies and ICE...

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his Washington attorney said Tuesday they will not cooperate with an ongoing Department of Justice investigation into the sheriff's office until the feds name specific charges and reveal what they are looking for. Arpaio also said Tuesday during a heavily attended press conference in Phoenix he will not be intimidated nor back down in his methods of crime sweeps that have netted the arrests of 4,000 illegal immigrants in the last two and a half months. Arpaio's office is accused of racial profiling during crime sweeps and is the target of a civil rights...

HOST: Health care. MCCAIN: Needs reform. HOST: That’s two words. [weird laugh] Iraq. MCCAIN: Success. HOST: Arizona. MCCAIN: The best. HOST: US-Mexico Border. McCain: Cartels. HOST: GOP. MCCAIN: Transition. HOST: Sheriff Joe Arpaio:MCCAIN: Umm…

PHOENIX — The Rev. Al Sharpton on Friday called for opponents of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has aggressively cracked down on illegal immigration, to videotape alleged racial profiling by the sheriff’s office. The civil rights leader said the videos will help the U.S. Department of Justice in an investigation of alleged civil rights abuses by Arpaio’s office. “We’re gonna start some freedom rides around this county, to show how people of a certain skin color are treated different than other people,” Sharpton told a crowd of several hundred people at the Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Phoenix. Sharpton...

PHOENIX - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his attorneys said in a press conference Monday that the U.S. Department of Justice and Homeland Security have an ulterior motive in their investigation into the sheriff's office. Arpaio and his attorneys outlined their reasons for demanding an investigation into the two agencies for unethical conduct and improper political influence during the course of their investigation of Arpaio's illegal immigration enforcement policies. "After serving with the DOJ for nearly 30 years as a ranking official with the DEA, it is almost painful to have to ask for this investigation," Arpaio says. "But...

Nineteen new qualified armed posse volunteers will graduate today, Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 6:30PM from the Sheriff’s Training Academy, 2627 South 35 Avenue. Arpaio says he plans to step up his recruiting methods to attract more men and women to join his volunteer armed posse through more public outreach. “The public has a desire to help local law enforcement when times are tough. I am banking on their generosity of time and energy to help my deputies keep our communities safe,” Arpaio says. Arpaio is seeking primarily those who wish to be trained and qualified to carry and use...

I received some interesting feedback regarding the petition to "Draft" Sheriff Joe Arpaio to run against the RINO McCain. Most of it was positive and a few against. One that pops up is his age. I can see where that would be an issue under most circumstances but he seems to be quite lucis and I don't think we need career politicians anyway. One term in this critical time in history would be perfect. In fact, we'd probably do better if we drafted all of our candidates these days because the people who WANT the job seem to be ambitious...

So Arlen Specter saw the writing on the wall and defected to save face. People like these should be welcomed under our "big tent" with ASYLUM – if they want to support conservative candidates. They should never again be allowed positions of leadership. It is unacceptable to have leftists undermining our platform. No individual seat is worth preserving at the expense of our conscience. Allowing their nonsense to endure has cost us many more seats than the few we gained in tolerating them as they have disillusioned so many, causing them to defect to other parties with no chance to...

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik stood by his assertion that schools should be asking about the immigration status of students but said he planned to take no action nor make changes in the way Pima County deputies do their job. At a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Dupnik said he made the comments at a Senate hearing in Phoenix on April 20 because he wanted to seize the opportunity to weigh in on a sensitive topic he believes needs to be addressed. "It's wrong for the taxpayers in this country to spend the millions and millions and millions of dollars that...

"...No individual seat is worth preserving at the expense of our conscience. Allowing their nonsense to endure has cost us many more seats than the few we gained in tolerating them as they have disillusioned so many, causing them to defect to other parties with no chance to win. While we are at it, we should also put John McCain and Lindsey Graham near the top of that list for being capricious in many ways including the protection of our borders. It is time for some solid candidates to challenge John McCain and Lindsey Graham. The presidential election is over...

PHOENIX — Some border county sheriffs want Arizona schools to start asking students whether they're in this country legally. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik originated the idea and said millions of dollars in Arizona taxes go to teach English to children who have no legal right to be here. He also said there's a link involving illegal immigration, social problems and gangs. Only thing is, a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision appears to make it illegal for school officials to ask. In a 5-4 decision, the justices overturned a Texas law that authorized school districts to refuse to enroll anyone...

For background, visit this FR link first: The Amazing Racist: Al Sharpton targets Arizona’s Sheriff Arpaio, posted on 4/10/09. Then, visit this link to read the Sheriff's response to Sharpton.

Reverend Al Sharpton 106 West 145th Street Harlem, New York City, New York 10039 Fax: 212 690 3070 Dear Reverend Sharpton: I have read about you with much interest since learning of the protest you plan to lead against me in Maricopa County in June as a way to force my resignation or removal from office. Your public proclamation leads me to the conclusion: not only do you not understand Arizona; you also do not understand democracy. As the elected Sheriff who, so far has been elected to five consecutive four-year terms, I answer to the four million residents of...

The Reverend Al Sharpton must be running out of things to protest.  Yesterday he went after Sheriff Joe Arpaio. According to a report by Reuters, the opportunist Sharpton, called on Sheriff Joe to resign accusing him of racially profiling Hispanics because of his attempts to enforce US immigration laws: Under a deal allowing them to enforce federal immigration laws, the deputies have arrested more than 1,500 people who they determined were in Arizona illegally, triggering street protests and condemnation from Latino activists who accuse him of racial profiling." I am first calling for the resignation and or removal of Sheriff...

He's defying calls from ACORN and Sharpton to step down.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. civil rights activist Al Sharpton weighed into a fight over an Arizona sheriff's immigration sweeps on Tuesday, accusing him of racially profiling Hispanics and urging him to step down. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has dispatched deputies into Hispanic communities in the Phoenix area, where they stop people and arrest anyone who cannot prove he or she is a legal U.S. resident. Under a deal allowing them to enforce federal immigration laws, the deputies have arrested more than 1,500 people who they determined were in Arizona illegally, triggering street protests and condemnation from Latino activists...

WHOOOO HOOO!!!! (from a FIRE coalition email I just received) A MUST SEE video. "After all of the abuse the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office takes from La Raza, MALDEF, ACLU, and their Mayor Gordon of Phoenix for enforcing the law, the Sheriff Deputies finally fight back in a press conference of their own!"

Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Arizona voters have a favorable view of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose aggressive enforcement of laws against illegal immigration have triggered an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Forty-six percent (46%) view the sheriff very favorably. Just 26% have an unfavorable opinion of Arpaio, including 16% who are very unfavorable, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Arizona voters. Seven percent (7%) are not sure. Arizona voters also strongly approve of some of the tactics the sheriff employs to fight illegal immigration and crime related to it. Seventy-four percent (74%), for example,...