Thread: Activists want Sheriff Joe Arpaio to stop arrests

http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/138007

More articles a few videos of the protest can be found here.
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... joe+arpaio

Activists want sheriff to stop arrests
By Amanda Lee Myers
The Associated Press
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.15.2006
PHOENIX — Hundreds of immigrant-rights activists sparred with the sheriff of Arizona's most populous county Friday, calling him heartless for arresting illegal immigrants under a state smuggling law.

More than 200 protesters marched through a small area of downtown Phoenix and stopped in front of the office of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, known for female chain gangs and forcing inmates to wear pink underwear.

Protesters walked diagonally through an intersection and met Arpaio on the other side.

"Sheriff, we are here to get on our knees and implore you to stop the hostility against the Hispanic community," said Elias Bermudez, president of activist group Inmigrantes Sin Fronteras, or Immigrants Without Borders.

Bermudez knelt in front of the sheriff as he spoke, saying, "We believe that your enforcement of the law is an affront to the poor victims — the people who are coming here to work and serve this country."

Arpaio refused to stop arresting illegal immigrants under the human smuggling law, whose authors say the legislation was intended to crack down on violent immigrant smugglers — not the people being smuggled.
Bermudez told Arpaio if he wouldn't work with the Hispanic community, Latinos will retaliate at the polls.

"We have come here, we have begged, we have gotten on our knees," Bermudez said. "You have not worked with us. The only thing we can tell you is you cannot be our sheriff.

"You are pursuing something that goes against the Hispanic community, and we as the Hispanic community will do our most to have you removed from public office, and we will do it through the polls."
Under a disputed interpretation by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, the smuggling law is being 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 — punishable by up to two years in jail.
On Tuesday, a judge dismissed charges against two Mexican men at the first trial of the hundreds of illegal immigrants charged with conspiracy under the law. The next day, a jury found a smuggler guilty under the law.

Neither the protests nor the dismissals will stop him from arresting more illegal immigrants, Arpaio said.

"I am going to enforce the law," Arpaio told protesters Friday. "You cannot change my mind."

The protesters also demonstrated in front of Thomas's office, but he wasn't there. Instead, he issued a statement through his public-relations representative.

"The protests today remind us that America is a generous nation — so generous that we allow illegal immigrants to protest publicly in our streets and to demand that our immigration laws not be enforced," Thomas wrote.

"However, it is my duty, as the county's chief prosecutor, to hold accountable those who violate Arizona's criminal statutes. This includes prosecuting those who violate our state law against human smuggling, a law designed to combat illegal immigration," he wrote.

After speaking with Arpaio, Bermudez and the other protesters marched in a circle, chanting "Libertad" and "Sí se puede," Spanish for "Liberty" and "Yes, we can."

They carried American flags and signs that read, "Don't be nosy with the Border Patrol job" and "You can't have a crime without a victim."
One 9-year-old girl wore a black-and-white-striped prison uniform with a sign taped to her back that read, "I am not a criminal."

"I'm afraid my parents will go to jail," said the girl, Daniela Marqueda of Phoenix.

Another man, Cliff Clifton, shouted at Arpaio, calling him a "Nazi thug" and a "scumbag piece of garbage," to which Arpaio said, "Is that all you can say?"

One woman leaned in close to Arpaio, pointing her finger in his face to mimic the sheriff.

Earlier this week, local news channels showed Arpaio pointing his finger at the two illegal immigrants whose charges were dismissed, ordering them to go back to Mexico and tell all their friends to stay out of Maricopa County.

But the sheriff did have a handful of supporters, including Barb Heller, a 49-year-old Phoenix resident.

"There are laws on the books," said Heller, who held a sign that read, "Arpaio & Thomas: Doing the job Bush, McCain and Napolitano won't."

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... h0715.html

Rally puts the heat on sheriff, official
Protesters gather to oppose arrest of immigrants

Mel Meléndez
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 15, 2006 12:00 AM

Hundreds of protesters weathered nearly 100-degree temperatures Friday morning in downtown Phoenix to rally against the arrests and prosecutions of undocumented immigrants.

Organizers, who participated in last spring's immigration marches, had hoped to draw more than 1,000 people to the two-hour protest. But they still managed to highlight the plight of those entangled by Arizona's anti-smuggling law with nearly 300 men, women and children voicing some of their complaints directly to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

"Those that aren't here aren't here because they had to work, not because they didn't care," said Luis Hernandez of Inmigrantes Sin Fronteras (Immigrants Without Borders), which organized the rally.

Protesters gathered at Patriots Square Park at 8 a.m., where they held up posters accusing Arpaio and Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas of treating undocumented immigrants inhumanely.

They later picketed at Arpaio's and Thomas' office buildings, where many wore blue duct tape on their mouths to symbolize their voices being silenced. Some children sported black-and-white prison garb to show their "criminal" status under the law.

The Sheriff's Office has arrested nearly 250 suspects since it began enforcing Arizona's anti-smuggling law in March, which Thomas says also applies to those being smuggled. Maricopa is the only county in the state making arrests under the law, even though those who wrote the legislation say it was intended to help prosecute "coyotes," or smugglers.

The smuggling cases against two undocumented immigrants were tossed out of court this week. But Thomas and Arpaio said they would continue to uphold the law that aims to combat illegal immigration. Arizona, the busiest entry point for illegal crossers, is home to about 500,000 undocumented immigrants, officials estimate.

Arpaio met protesters outside of his office, where he defended the arrests and took umbrage at some of the signs, which referred to him as "heartless."

"Do you think I like arresting people? No. I have compassion for these people," he told the crowd. "But they're violating the law and it's my job as the sheriff to uphold the law. Change the law and I promise you I'll stop arresting them."

Afterward, the protesters walked a few blocks to Thomas' office, where they sang We Shall Overcome and picketed before returning to Patriots Square Park.

Unlike Arpaio, Thomas did not meet with protesters. But he issued a brief written statement saying he would continue to "hold accountable those who violate Arizona's criminal statutes" including "prosecuting those who violate our state law against human smuggling."

Many of those protesting Friday said they wouldn't oppose the anti-smuggling law if it applied only to "coyotes."

Mesa resident Maria Sanchez - who 10 years ago paid a smuggler $500 to bring her illegally into the United States from Toluca, Mexico - said the "coyotes" were the true criminals.

"They prey on those without papers and often leave us in danger, because I almost died in the desert," the 32-year-old said. "Those are the people they should be prosecuting, not the ones who are just coming here to feed their families."

Mesa resident Maria Sanchez - who 10 years ago paid a smuggler $500 to bring her illegally into the United States from Toluca, Mexico - said the "coyotes" were the true criminals.

No mam as your little anecdote points out you are a criminal too.

Hello!!!! All of them are criminals! They broke the law!

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W

You are pursuing something that goes against the Hispanic community, and we as the Hispanic community will do our most to have you removed from public office, and we will do it through the polls."

Who gives a squat about the Hispanic community? What about the rest of the friggin country? Obey the darned law!!!!