Arizona Sheriff Clashes with Federal Government on Immigration
An Arizona sheriff will deny the federal government’s attempt to rein in his strict enforcement of illegal immigration. Last year, a branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security took away Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s ability to use 100 of his 881 deputies to enforce U.S. immigration laws within the boundaries of his jurisdiction. Maricopa County includes Phoenix, the state’s largest city. The federal agency took this measure because of Arpaio’s intense pursuit of illegal immigrants, a move that came under fire from human rights activists. The U.S. Justice Department is also examining whether Arpaio used racial profiling in his immigration crackdowns.
However, Arpaio will not cede to federal authority and claims that he will continue to use his deputies to enforce immigration laws, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. He said that his officers are merely enforcing the laws handed down from Washington. The disagreement is in part due to a provision referred to as 287g, a federal program that instructs local police in identifying immigration law violators. The course was supposed to zero in on the serious criminal offenders. However, the program was chided for encouraging racial profiling and allowed local law enforcers to hunt down anybody suspected of illegal immigration. In particular, Mr. Arpaio became notorious for his aggressive tactics, but he denies ever engaging in racial profiling, adding that his officers will be trained to avoid this practice.
When they tried to limit Sheriff Arpaio’s power, the federal government restricted his deputies’ capacity to check the immigration standing of people during the normal course of their duties. The officers still have the ability to verify the immigration status of inmates at the county jail. Arpaio has teamed up with prominent law professor Kris Kobach, a law professor who acts as a national proponent for harsher penalties against those who violate immigration laws.
Monheit is the managing lawyer at Monheit Law, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has practiced law since 1989. Michael Monheit was the managing attorney of the law offices of Herbert Monheit — now Silverman and Fodera — a firm founded by... Michael Monheit→
