Dupnik set to deputize 2 officers from Border Patrol
Sheriff not seeking an OK from Board of Supervisors
By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.30.2008

PHOENIX — Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik will deputize two U.S. Border Patrol officers without the permission of the Board of Supervisors or a state law telling him he can ignore the board.

Dupnik said Tuesday that federal officials agreed to have two of their sergeants sworn in as sheriff's deputies without the county's first signing a formal "memorandum of understanding." They originally said an agreement was required for joint operations.

Dupnik said the primary role of the federal agents will be to ensure coordination of the activities of his border-crimes unit, where they will be assigned, and the Border Patrol. Both groups patrol the rural desert.
Dupnik said the Border Patrol was so eager to begin working with his department that the first officer went on duty Monday night.

The move come as Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed legislation Tuesday that would have given Dupnik the power to sign a pact with the Border Patrol without first having to get the consent of the supervisors. Dupnik had asked Rep. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, to sponsor the legislation after the supervisors balked at signing the formal agreement.

Napolitano, in her veto message, said she doesn't believe Dupnik needs a change in state law. She said her reading of the statutes convinces her that any sheriff has the authority to enter into any formal agreement with the Border Patrol to facilitate communication between the two agencies, whether or not the supervisors agree, "so long as the agreement has no fiscal impact on the county."

In the end, though, Dupnik never had to test the governor's legal theory. He said the legislation and the publicity surrounding it had the desired effect. The Border Patrol agreed to have its officers deputized and work with the border-crimes unit.

"They sent one for each squad and basically said: 'To hell with the lawyers. We need to do what's right. We need to protect our people, you need to protect your people, and we both need to protect the public,' " Dupnik said.

The veto pleased Pima County Supervisor Richard ElĂ*as, who said he never believed state intervention was necessary.

"Officially, he can still deputize whoever he wants to," ElĂ*as said. "That's an issue between him and the rest of the community."

ElĂ*as said the bill was "superfluous" and little more than "political grandstanding by members of the Legislature."

Paton, however, said that's not what the evidence shows.

"This isn't about deputizing people," he said.

Paton said the Border Patrol originally had demanded a formal agreement with the county. And he said Dupnik submitted the request to the supervisors but withdrew it after it became clear that the votes were not there for approval.

"If anybody's grandstanding, it was Richard ElĂ*as and the Board of Supervisors for paying more attention to a small minority than the safety of those officers," Paton said, referring to concerns expressed by CoaliciĂłn de Derechos Humanos and other groups that said such an agreement would lead to more racial profiling.

He said Dupnik got what he needed only because the Border Patrol "decided to go ahead and do the right thing" and agree to embed the two officers with sheriff's deputies.

ElĂ*as said that while Dupnik is legally free to deputize Border Patrol officers, he still believes it is a bad move.

"We're going to have a chilling effect on a lot of people in our community who really need to have access to good public safety," he said. ElĂ*as said some people who are in this country illegally may be "intimidated" and not report crimes.

Dupnik, however, said the purpose of deputizing the Border Patrol agents is not to round up illegal immigrants. Instead, he said, officers in his border-crimes unit need to know where Border Patrol officers are working, and vice versa, to ensure that their operations don't endanger each other.

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