He took an oath to enforce the laws of the State. It’s not like a menu from the neighborhood Chinese eatery where you choose one from column A, one from B and one from C. Mr. High Sheriff needs to understand it’s package deal.
I don’t know how it is in Arizona, but here in Florida the sheriff is not a county official, but rather a state official. He or she answers to the governor, not the county commission.
In Florida it would be up to the governor to insist he enforce the laws of the state, all of them, or face removal from his position.
I say hooray for the State of Arizona! They have certainly taken a situation for which they could get no satisfaction and turned it into a national discussion. Good for them!
Pima county is Tucson area. I lived there for four years. There is a extremely strong (legal) Latino influence on the city council and the county election process. The state itself may lean to the right and vote Republican but Tucson is mostly Democrat.
The key thing here is that federal law required some activity and some enforcement...state law is now more direct and absolutely requires activity and enforcement from the cops. As you can see in both cases....it’s a pick and choose mentality by the cops (local, state, and federal) over what they enforce. The minute you use the “menu-option” on law...you aren’t cops or law enforcement anymore. I think we’ve been this way for several decades now....but now have so many problems that cops won’t even see the issues and react.