Arizona Sheriff - Throwing Illegals Aliens in Jail

Ariz. Posse to Round Up Illegal Immigrants

By AMANDA LEE MYERS
Associated Press Writer

GILA BEND, Ariz. (AP) -- Four Mexican men sit in the dirt with their wrists bound, shoulders hunched and eyes lowered to avoid the glare of the rising sun.

The immigrants had been on their way to build a dairy farm in this town about an hour southwest of Phoenix. But after a traffic stop for a faulty brake light, members of a sheriff's task force targeting human and drug smugglers found they were not U.S. citizens. Now they were bound for federal custody.

Unfortunately I don't hold much water in the Federal Government doing anything for long. I can bet you they will be back on the street soon after being turned over to Federal Custody.

Beginning Wednesday, more illegal immigrants coming through Maricopa County could meet the same fate as the sheriff's department beefs up its efforts to find illegal immigrants.

A 250-member posse that will operate similarly to the anti-smuggler task force will patrol the area for illegal immigrants who pay smugglers to cross through Arizona, the busiest illegal entry point along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.

The posse will be made up of existing sheriff's deputies and members of the department's 3,000-member posse reserve of trained, unpaid volunteers.

The four illegal immigrants pulled over Monday will be turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and sent back to Mexico. But those that are captured by the posse may end up in jail, charged under a state law that has been used against more than 100 illegal immigrants in Maricopa County this year.

At this time I have no faith in turning them over to Federal Custody as long as the Federal Government has no spine on this, nothing will be done. These Illegals will be back on the street soon after being placed in Federal Custody.

Look at the recent spate of so-called 'crackdowns.'
Thousands captured, and just about the same amount released, not deported, but released back on to American Soil. They get a summons to appear for a deportation hearing, but are released till the appointed court date, in which they disappear never to be heard from again.

The law made human smuggling a state crime in Arizona - it was already a federal crime - allowing local law enforcement agencies to arrest suspected smugglers. It was meant to crack down on smugglers, but under a disputed interpretation, County Attorney Andrew Thomas argues the law can be applied to the smuggled immigrants themselves.

Thomas maintains illegal immigrants who pay smugglers to enter the United States are committing conspiracy to smuggle and can therefore be prosecuted under the state law.

The sheriff's office began arresting illegal immigrants under that interpretation in March, and with the new posse, will continue doing so by patrolling desert areas and main roadways in the southwestern part of the county.


"I'm going to catch as many as I can and throw them in my jail," said Sheriff Joe Arpaio. "And the jails are not that nice."

The best thing for the States to do is jail Illegal Aliens under State Law. No longer turning them over to Federal Custody to be released.

It sounds like the States are more serious about the Illegal Alien problem than the Federal Government is, which shows how out of touch the Federal Government is with what the States need and want.

It remains to be seen whether a judge will uphold the smuggling law as applicable to illegal immigrants. Lawyers for some arrested illegal immigrants have filed motions to have the charges dismissed.

I do not see why it should not be upheld. If you receive stolen property, you can be charged with receiving stolen property. So if the Law arresting smugglers for smuggling, also gets applied to those who are paying for the smugglers to smuggle, they are complicit in the crime and should be arrested, which is what is happening.

I guess we will see if legislating from the bench happens in this case, whether the Judges uphold the Law, or make their own.

A Los Angeles attorney brought into the case by the Mexican Consul General's Office in Phoenix filed another motion claiming Thomas and Arpaio are violating state and federal law and are using the conspiracy charges to control illegal immigration, which is the federal government's job.

It is amazing that the Mexican Government can afford lawyers for the Illegal Mexican Citizens that are crossing the US borders and getting caught.

And what is with Conspiracy charges?
Since when is it a Conspiracy to ENFORCE THE LAW.
Conspiracy to enforce Illegal Immigration? Can they actually say that with a straight face?

Do they honestly think that a Federal Crime cannot be enforced at the State level?
That if a Federal Crime is committed, that the States cannot do anything about it?
Are they actually serious?
This is a joke right?

Arpaio said the motions don't worry him.

"I get sued when I go to the toilet. You think I'm worried about it?" he said. "If they think I'm going to slow down because of these threats, I've got news for them - I'm not going to slow down. I'll do more of it."

A man of conviction. Finally.
Someone who believes firmly in what they are doing, and the more you press him to stop, the more he will continue.

Too bad our Senators and Congressman do not have the Cajones this Sherrif does.

Alfredo Gutierrez, a Hispanic activist and former Democratic state senator, called Thomas' interpretation of the law and Arpaio's use of it "political pranks."

A political prank?
Enforcing the Law is not a political prank, and unfortunately the Law to some Democrats, I suppose, is nothing more than a political prank to them.

"Every act like this contributes to the angst and anger and desperation in our community," Gutierrez said.

Contributes to the Anger and Angst and Desperation of what community?
The Illegal Alien Community? Good.

We see too much of the illegal aliens brazenly going about their business, no fear of apprehension by the authorities, they have said as much before. Now they have a reason to be afraid of breaking the law.

Elias Bermudez, president of the pro-immigrant group Inmigrantes Sin Fronteras, or Immigrants Without Borders, questions the legality of the immigration posse itself.

"It is racial profiling," he said. "They don't follow guys that are blond and blue-eyed."

This has to be the stupidest statement I have heard in this.

As soon as we see blonde and blue-eyed Illegal Aliens crossing the US border illegally, they too will be arrested.

As it stands the biggest majority of Illegal Aliens are Mexican Citizens entering into America Illegally. Last I checked, I normally don't see alot of Mexican Citizens with blonde hair and blue eyes.

It is not racial profiling to enforce the Law.
I suppose you can call it profiling by going on the fact that it is going to be a Mexican-looking person that is an Illegal Alien the majority of the time.

That is if you pull them over for a traffic ticket, you actually have the nerve to do a background check. Heaven forbid law enforcement do their jobs.

It is too bad that these Mexican Consul people aren't condemning Illegal Aliens coming into America instead of coming in the Legal way.

I have yet to hear any condemnation of Mexican Citizens breaking our American Laws by coming across our border illegally from the Mexican Government or from its Consul. It is always the Americans that are 'vigilantes' for wanting to enforce our border security, at least at the State level, we have yet to really see anything of enforcement at the Federal level.

Bermudez said Arpaio is "a good criminal sheriff, but he needs to go out there and find criminals. He wants to go after the poor, undocumented immigrant who is hungry and thirsty in the desert. That is totally inhumane."

Link
Going to steal a line from Laura Ingraham, and say that this is the Butt-Monkey of the day.

He points out that he is a good criminal sheriff, but he needs to go and find criminals?

I believe Mr. Bermudez, he has. Every ILLEGAL alien in this country upon entering the US illegally has broken the law, they are instant criminals. Under the Arizona State Law, if they pay to be smuggled across they are complicit in the crime of smuggling also. Hence he is finding and arresting criminals.

Arpaio doesn't believe in coddling criminals, frequently saying that jails should not be country clubs. He banned smoking, coffee, pornographic magazines, movies and unrestricted television in all jails. He has the cheapest meals in the country too. The average inmate meal costs under 20 cents.

Your PC usage of the words 'undocumented immigrants' is complete BS. They are Illegal Aliens, Citizens of another country that have broken immigration and smuggling laws and entered into the US illegally. Lets not play games with words shall we.

He wants to go after the poor illegal aliens that are crossing illegally into the US, the poor hungry and thirty in the desert? Well when they are arrested they will get 3 meals and plenty to drink. Nothing inhumane about it.

What is inhumane is to say they are thirsty and hungry in the desert (trying to play the tear jerking heart strings - lets not say that they are illegally crossing and doing so of their own free will), and leaving them out in the desert to starve and dehydrate, that would be inhumane. At least if they are rounded up and jailed, they are fed and given water, more than just leaving them out there would do.

What they can expect when being arrested and being sent to Tent City:

Pink underwear and bedtime stories

Inmates follow strict fashion and lifestyle guidelines. They are forced to wear old-fashioned prison stripes and pink underwear. Prohibited items include cigarettes, adult magazines, hot lunches and television -- except for his bedtime story reading, a self-styled literacy program broadcast nightly to the inmates.

For the Maricopa County sheriff, who opened the nation's largest tent prison in 1993, saving taxpayer pennies matters more than comforting convicted felons.

"We took away coffee, that saved $150,000 a year. Why do you need coffee in jail?" says Arpaio, patrolling the dusty, barren grounds. "Switched to bologna sandwiches, that saved half a million dollars a year."

Arpaio makes inmates pay for their meals, which some say are worse than those for the guard dogs. Canines eat $1.10 worth of food a day, the inmate 90 cents, the sheriff says. "I'm very proud of that too."

Link

Why is it the illegality of the whole Illegal Aliens (immigration) debate never seems to carry hardly any weight with anyone; that the feel-good (or in this case make us feel-bad) issue of how bad things are for them, that we are punishing them, that they are starving and thirsty in the desert, always seems to be brought up, but never the fact that hey come here of their own free-will and do so illegally.

It is the same PC crap we deal with Moussauai Trial, it wasn't that he was a terrorists, it was all about how he was treated as a child, to excuse his actions, at least in determining whether to be put to death.

We are now having to deal with the same thing here with Illegal Immigration.
They are breaking the Law, but we get told that we must not recognize that, because they just want a better life for themselves. We are told what Laws we should enforce and which ones we shouldn't.

It is time to send a clear message to our Government, it is "We the People" who want the Border Enforced!

Last I checked, it was a Government "By the People", "For the People".

For now.


Others Blogging on this issue:
Iowa Voice, FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog (Love the Graphic!), Flopping Aces, Wizbang, Butler County Sheriff's Office Blog, Common Folk using Common Sense, Debbie Schlussel, Texas Rainmaker