Sheriff's deputies arrest 60 in 2-day crime sweep

Jeffrey Javier and Ofelia Madrid -
Oct. 17, 2009 10:00 PM
The Arizona Republic .

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced Saturday that his deputies arrested 60 people in a two-day crime-suppression sweep across the northwest Valley.

About half of those arrested were suspected illegal immigrants, including two Jamaican nationals arrested for selling drugs, he said.

Those whose only crime was being in the country illegally were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Those arrested for committing other crimes were kept in sheriff's custody. The sheriff's crime sweep began Friday, one day after ICE stripped him of power to make federal immigration arrests. Arpaio's sweeps have drawn criticism for alleged racial profiling.

Arpaio said despite ICE's action, nothing has changed. “This is to show that we did not need the federal authority to do our jobs,â€