Arizona Republic: A federal court ruling that found that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office engaged in racial-profiling has managed to do what Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s critics have sought to do for years.Yes, that is a terrible thing. It’s almost like the court believes that the purpose of law enforcement is to protect lives and property. When will these activist judges realize that it’s Sheriff Joe’s job to grandstand on immigration in order to keep getting reelected by slackjawed racists?
The agency no longer patrols the county looking for undocumented immigrants, and Arpaio’s work-site enforcement raids have come to an end — at least for now.
A hearing scheduled in U.S. District Court today will help determine exactly how Arpaio’s agency trains its deputies and enforces laws in the future.
But, for now, the ruling has forced the Sheriff’s Office to not only alter its approach to immigration enforcement but also change the way the agency describes its work. For the past three weeks, deputies who encountered undocumented immigrants have rescued the border crossers as part of a humanitarian effort instead of arresting them on illegal-immigration charges.
“I’m in a Catch-22 here,” Arpaio said. “I would have to lean toward saving the lives of the people here illegally in the desert. I can’t call ICE anymore.”
[photo via Wikimedia Commons]
