Wednesday, October 3, 2007 - 4:49 PM MST
Arpaio defends illegal immigrant tip lineThe Business Journal of Phoenix - by Mike Sunnucks The Business Journal
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Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is defending his office's illegal immigration tip line saying it is helping to catch drug traffickers and human smugglers.

Arpaio said Wednesday that the telephone line led to the arrest in Mesa of Antonio Tapia Ortiz, who was detained after being found with 1 pound of cocaine and other illegal items.

The sheriff's office said the tip line, 602-876-4154, has been operating for several weeks and has led to the arrests of 80 illegal immigrants.

Illegal immigrants and crime have come into focus lately with the killing of a Phoenix police officer by an illegal immigrant from Mexico.

Some Hispanic groups have criticized the hotline saying it encourages discrimination against Latinos.

"Those elected officials and activists who criticized me and my office, stating that it was a 'throwback to the Third Reich,' that the illegal immigration hotline would not be a success, and even portraying me as a member of the KKK, might be surprised by our achievements with the tip line," said Arpaio in a statement.

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