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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%.

PHOENIX - Three Army soldiers were among those arrested during Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's most recent crime sweep. In all 51 suspects were arrested, including 37 illegal aliens. Deputies arrested the three soldiers on drug, money laundering and conspiracy charges. The soldiers, Dwayne Campbell, Llewellyn Stamoulis and Romaine May were discovered to have 680 pounds of marijuana and $10,000 in cash during a traffic stop in north Phoenix. They were wearing military clothing and identified themselves with U.S. Government issued military identification. The driver of that vehicle was also charged with driving on a suspended driver's license. "It is...

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...

PHOENIX - The final numbers are out on Sheriff Joe Arpaio's 2-day crime sweep. A total of 66 people were arrested, according to MCSO spokesperson Aaron Douglas. More News » Of the 66 detained, 30 were suspected illegal aliens. 19 of them have been turned over to federal immigration agents. The remaining 11 suspects were taken into custody on state charges. The crime suppression operation is the 12th of its kind. Deputies have started video taping their traffic stops, to combat the use of activist groups recording them.

Sheriff Joe held a sweep in NW Phoenix, Friday October 16, 2009. He had a press conference after. US Department of Justice Officials (approximately 5) showed up at the conference, UNDERCOVER, POSING AS REPORTERS. When contacted by a Sheriff commander, the Federal Civil Rights officials posing as journalists, conducted themselves "unprofessionally" and "refused to provide official identification. Only one official from the "covert team provided any form of ID when pressed." That was the senior trial attorney, (phonetics) G. Yong Jung. She has been conducting the DOJ's investigation of the Sheriff's office re: allegations of racial profiling. Ms. Yong Jung...

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.

And we thought McCain was bad.... Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, known through out the country for his no nonsense stance on illegal immigrants in his home county, has been reprimanded by the Obama Administration. Sheriff Arpaio (better know simply as Sheriff Joe) and his deputies were authorized by the federal government to detain, question and verify the status of suspected illegal immigrants in the area. After receiving a litany of complaints from liberals various individuals, the Obama Administration revoked his ability to make immigration arrests. Sheriff Joe responded by stating that he would continue to make arrests...

Calling himself “the poster boy” for those who oppose the enforcement of federal immigration laws, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he will continue to arrest individuals who are in the country illegally, even if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not renew the 287(g) agreement that the Maricopa County (Ariz.) Sheriff’s Office has operated under for the past two years. “We’ve been doing it for two years and have been very successful, but I guess they don’t like to enforce illegal immigration laws,” Arpaio told CNSNews.com. “[It] doesn’t make any difference. I’m still going to continue my programs, regardless of what...

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.

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...

Back in July a class action suit was filed against America's Sheriff, Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County Arizona. Sheriff Joe is the guy who has become famous for the tough way he treats criminals including making them live in tents and having to wear pink prison uniforms. Over in the last three years Arpaio has been a one-man homeland security agent, he has handed over 22,616 illegal immigrants to ICE for deportation. Of course those in the PC Police are not happy with the Sheriff, Racist Agitator Al Sharpton has threatened to protest, Eric Holder is investigating him for racial...

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...

The sheriff has started his own blog to combat media attacks. By KFYI News The Maricopa County Sheriff's Department has launched a new blog on the office's web site called "The Truth Behind the Headlines." The blog will swing back to media coverage the Sheriff believes is inaccurate and incomplete. So far, Sheriff Arpaio has only fought back against newspaper articles and editorials he says are skewed against him. Check out Sheriff Joe's blog here.

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...

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

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...

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 said Friday the federal government released three illegal immigrants arrested in a crime sweep Thursday because their arrests didn’t fit new Department of Homeland Security policies. Arpaio said DHS breached a promise that he could operate under an existing agreement that allows him to enforce immigration law. DHS is requiring all local police agencies with existing 287(g) agreements to sign new ones within the next three months that are in accordance with new policies and department objectives or else lose their authority. “I am stunned that this reversal came about so soon after I was...

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 mayor Phil Gordon used the occasion of a fatal shooting at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC – allegedly by a white supremacist – to accuse Sheriff Joe Arpaio of being sympathetic to Nazis and neo-Nazis. At a news conference called to discuss Phoenix's light rail system, Gordon led off expressing his sympathies to the family of the victim in the DC shooting. He then called white supremacists "despicable" and wondered aloud why community and law enforcement leaders across the Valley have repeatedly denounced white Supremacists, except for Arpaio. According to Gordon, the sheriff has had numerous occasions to...

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...

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, today 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 Arpaio...

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!"

Link only as it is an AP story. FR Rules

Sheriff Arpaio Has ‘No Intention’ of Testifying Before Conyers Committee on Alleged Immigration Enforcement Abuses Monday, March 16, 2009 By Nicholas Ballasy, Video Reporter (CNSNews.com) – House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D.-Mich.) told CNSNews.com he is going to invite Maricopa County (Ariz.) Sheriff Joe Arpaio to testify in his committee about alleged abuses by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in its enforcement of U.S. immigration laws. But a spokeswoman for Arpaio told CNSNews.com that the sheriff--who has not yet received an official invitation to testify--currently has “no intention” of appearing before Conyers’ committee. The spokeswoman said, however, that Arpaio “welcomes”...

Sometimes we Americans are too soft. We so desperately want to help people that we end up hurting ourselves. We did it with welfare, we do it in the war on terror, and we do it when it comes to Illegal immigration. Too many people on the liberal side of the fence argue that illegal immigration is a racial issue. Those of us that want to protect the US boarders inspired by racism, trying to keep out Hispanics. This is simply not true. Illegal immigration is a Law and Order Issue and a anti-terrorism issue. Hence the word ILLEGAL immigration....

A "whois" search of the website www.arpaio.com (an anti-Sheriff Joe website) shows that it is registered to a P.O. Box in Herndon, VA. Who is the registrant?

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department over allegations of discriminatory practices and unconstitutional searches and seizures.... In February, four Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate possible civil rights violations based on complaints that Arpaio's deputies are targeting people based on their skin color during neighborhood crime sweeps and raids at work sites....

Federal authorities have told a high-profile Arizona sheriff that they will investigate his department over allegations of discriminatory practices and unconstitutional searches and seizures. The U.S. Justice Department said in a letter delivered Tuesday to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio that the investigation will focus on alleged patterns of discrimination based on a person's national origin. Arpaio told The Associated Press that he will cooperate with the Justice Department. Arpaio, who describes himself as "America's Toughest Sheriff" and is best known for feeding jail inmates green bologna sandwiches, clothing them in pink underwear, and making them work on chain gangs,...

During his visit to Mohave County last week, Arizona Sen. John McCain sat down with the Kingman Daily Miner Editorial Board to discuss a number of issues. The senator answered questions about the economic stimulus package, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, education and other issues. The following is Part II of the discussion the board had with the senator on Feb. 19. MINER: My parents live down in Yuma. One of the things they're most worried about is illegal immigration. My dad is fired up by the fact that that became a non-issue when you guys were running for...

America’s Toughest Sheriff Calls Rosanna “A Great Representative” Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County Sheriff and a legendary voice for border security, has endorsed Rosanna Pulido for Congress in the Illinois Fifth District. Arpaio noted Pulido’s long-term grassroots activism for seniors, law enforcement officers, and the economy, saying “Rosanna is thoroughly involved and committed to do all that she can to help our nation get through this very difficult economic decline.” “I am delighted to accept the endorsement of America’s Toughest Sheriff,” Pulido said. “As a nationally known figure, Sheriff Joe has a proven track record — both in fighting crime in...

More federal government interference, more violations of the 10th Amendment. Maybe Conyers should investigate himself House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and three fellow Democrats want the Department of Justice to investigate civil rights complaints against controversial sheriff Joe Arpaio. The lawmakers, in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano sent Friday, are seeking a probe into reports Arpaio has used skin color as a basis to search for illegal immigrants in Arizona. Exactly what skin color do illegals crossing the southern border tend to have, John? As the saying goes, isn’t...

Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox has vowed to seek a federal investigation of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's decision to segregate illegal immigrants in his Tent City Jail. "It's a brand new Washington, and we're going to have to use the Justice Department to look into this abuse," Wilcox said after Arpaio moved about 200 convicted illegal immigrants from the Durango Jail to a fenced area at Tent City Wednesday afternoon. "You don't have to make us the laughing stock of the United States by doing stunts like this, and you don't have to abuse people. And that's what everybody is...

PHOTO: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10555339 The community organization group ACORN is protesting a decision made by the self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff in America" to keep illegal immigrants at tents that house prisoners, separate from the rest of the inmate population. ACORN has lambasted Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's action, calling it a "blatant disregard for civil rights." Arpaio announced Wednesday that he plans to accompany about 200 inmates -- along with members of the media -- from a Phoenix area jail to Tent City on Wednesday afternoon. "Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sherriff's Department have routinely violated the civil rights of...

<p>PHOENIX (AP) - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio plans the latest in a series of "crime suppression" sweeps on Friday in a rural area west of Phoenix.</p> <p>An estimated 200 deputies and posse volunteers will fan out near Interstate 10 and Miller Road near the town of Buckeye.</p>

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says scrutiny of racial and ethnic profiling by incoming President Barack Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will not deter his get-tough approach to illegal immigration. “I’m not stopping,” said Arpaio. The Republican sheriff said he plans to continue crime sweeps and raids aimed at illegal immigrants and businesses that employ them. The Obama administration and Holder are expected to increase the focus on racial and ethnic profiling by police. Critics of Arpaio’s immigration enforcement argue the sheriff’s office targets Hispanics and such actions take away from more serious investigations. Arpaio said his immigration...

Traditional media outlets are dying and savvy conservative politicians have taken to ignoring them -- or hastening their demise. Instead of subjecting themselves to heavy-handed interviews and biased coverage, Republicans are finding other ways to reach the public with their campaign messages. It's an approach the McCain-Palin ticket may have adopted too late. McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis asked, "Why would we want to throw Sarah Palin into a cycle of piranhas called the news media that have nothing better to ask questions about than her personal life and her children?" In McCain's Arizona, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio recently...

The man who calls himself "America's Toughest Sheriff," Joe Arpaio, has a dire prognostication for those hoping for a crackdown on illegal immigration. Hear what he tells Newsmax correspondent Ashley Martella

Unhinged in Arizona: Open-borders mob, led by public official, ravages Joe Arpaio effigy By Michelle Malkin • July 15, 2008 03:34 PM Scroll down for updates…Jon Justice has more… Reader Tim C. in Tucscon sent me an e-mail about some completely unhinged open-borders activists who mobbed a book event for Sheriff Joe Arpaio. A group of young pro-illegal alien protesters repeatedly beats an effigy of Arpaio as Isabel Garcia–local reconquistadora and an official from the Pima County legal defender’s office–eggs them on. She then parades around with the effigy’s head as onlookers cheer and hoist up the rest of the...

Sheriffs in Phoenix, Ariz., have launched an aggressive crackdown on illegal aliens as part of a growing movement by local officials to help prevent illegal immigration. Maricopa County sheriffs have instituted a zero tolerance policy — knocking on doors and arresting those suspected of living in the country illegally. Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the law is clear cut. “Our policy is if we come across any illegal ... you are arrested. You don’t get a ticket. You get to appear before a judge later on.” In the wake of two unsuccessful attempts at passing a comprehensive immigration reform bill in...

Frustrated by a steady flow of illegal Mexican immigrants into Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio has decided to take matters into his own hands. He has drawn support and opposition in equal measure for his treatment of prisoners, which includes re-introducing chain gangs and making prisoners wear pink underwear. Now he's under fire for dispatching teams of sheriff's deputies into Hispanic communities where they stop people and arrest anyone who cannot prove he or she is a legal U.S. resident. It has brought an onslaught of criticism from Hispanic activists, local lawmakers and the Phoenix mayor, who call his crackdown on...

Valley gun-maker Frank DeSomma donated about $10,000 worth of guns and equipment to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office earlier this year, but he wanted it to be a secret. Governor takes Arpaios funds for task force County OKs $1M for illegal-immigrant sweeps “I wanted to give this because I appreciate the organization,” DeSomma said. “But I wanted to keep it quiet.” But in Maricopa County, DeSomma soon learned, donations cannot be kept quiet. They are even discussed in public meetings because of specific rules to keep such gifts above board. DeSomma, who owns Patriot Ordnance Factory in Glendale, was among...

GUADALUPE, Ariz. (AP) - The self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff in America" has been making forays into Phoenix and nearby Guadalupe and sweeping up illegal immigrants, drawing howls of protest from the cities' mayors and other community leaders. While Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has legal authority to enforce the law in cities within his county, politicians and activists are accusing him of grandstanding and, worse, racial profiling. A total of 150 people—73 of them illegal immigrants—were arrested by Arpaio's deputies in the raids on heavily Hispanic sections in late March and early April. "I was upset. We did not request them...

GUADALUPE, Ariz. -- An illegal immigrant has been arrested on suspicion of raping and kidnapping a 15-year-old girl at her Guadalupe home, Maricopa County sheriff's deputies said.The MCSO Special Victims Unit arrested Jose Dolores Montoya Sanchez, 24.Sanchez was booked into the Maricopa County jail late Wednesday on one count of sexual assault, one count of kidnapping and two counts sexual abuse.Sheriff's deputies said they began investigating the case when the victim disclosed that Sanchez sexually assaulted her at a Guadalupe home. The 15-year-old was immediately taken to a local hospital for medical treatment, MCSO said. A forensic evaluation confirmed an...

The mayor wants the FBI to investigate whether the local county sheriff has violated any civil rights laws with his recent high-profile crackdowns on illegal immigrants. The "saturation patrols" have drawn protests from civil rights and immigrant-rights advocates, but they have drawn support from backers of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and from people who believe the government hasn't done enough against illegal immigration. In an April 4 letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Mayor Phil Gordon asked the agency and the Justice Department's civil rights division to examine what he called discriminatory harassment and improper stops, searches, and...

PHOENIX -- Hispanic leaders are calling for an immediate end to Sheriff Joe Arpaio's illegal immigrants' patrols, claiming they are dividing the community and could lead to violence. "As a community, we see him going out setting up his troops and stopping people at random -- racial profiling," said Hector Yturralde, president of We Are America. "After they find out they can't speak English or they have no identification, then they stop them for immigration." Yturralde added, "He is causing a division within this community that is not good. And that is not his job." He said the sheriff is...