Thread: Arpaio's new sweep targets human smuggling, drugs

Arpaio's new sweep targets human smuggling, drugs

by JJ Hensley and Jolie McCullough -
Mar. 18, 2010 07:05 PM
The Arizona Republic .

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said that his latest "crime-suppression operation" will focus on human smuggling and drug trafficking.

Arpaio said that the operation, which is the 14th since the controversial measures to root out illegal immigrants began two years ago, will differ from past sweeps by focusing more on human smuggling.

He discussed the details of the new crime sweep at a 5 p.m. Thursday press conference at the Sheriff's Training Center in southwest Phoenix.

"I'm concerned about violence from Mexico coming across the border," Arpaio said. "If [criminals] are stupid enough to come into this county, they're going to be dealt with."

Four hundred deputies will patrol the roads county-wide for human and drug smugglers during the two-day period, Arpaio said. Deputies typically look for violations on cars and trucks to pull the vehicles over and check for the criminal history and immigration status of the driver and passengers.

By 5 p.m. Thursday, deputies involved in the operation had already arrested 12 people.

Arpaio said the vehicle contained 4.5 pounds of methamphetamines and a large quantity of marijuana. Five of the people arrested were suspected to be in the country illegally.

The sheriff said he hopes the publicity of the event will keep people in their homes and prevent them from breaking the law.

"I hope we don't arrest anybody," he said during the press conference.

Since the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in October stripped Arpaio of an agreement that authorized deputies to perform street-level immigration screenings, the crime-suppression operations have relied on a pair of state laws that target illegal immigrants.

Deputies have targeted human smugglers on highways in Maricopa County with the help of a state law that allows immigrants to be charged as co-conspirators in their own smuggling . Businesses have also been targeted, using Arizona's employer-sanctions law to conduct work-site raids and arrest employees suspected of committing fraud and identity theft.

The effort marks the first time Arpaio has deployed his deputies in a crime-suppression operation since the Sheriff's Office entered an agreement to have Kris Kobach train all deputies on their authority to enforce federal immigration law.

Not all of the deputies in the sweep have been fully trained, however, since Arpaio said only 200 in the program have completed their training.

Kobach has previously worked in Arizona on the state's employer-sanctions law and has gained a national reputation as a virulent opponent of illegal immigration.

The Sheriff's Office has not responded to a request from made on Feb. 9 for details regarding Kobach's payment and contractual obligations for training deputies, but Chief Deputy David Hendershott in a deposition taken last month said he heard Kobach was being paid "either $250 an hour or $300 an hour."

The sweeps, which began in March 2008, have resulted in 530 arrests; 72 percent were later found to be in the country illegally, Arpaio said.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... 18-ON.html

Arpaio launches countywide immigration sweep

JACQUES BILLEAUD
March 18, 2010 5:03 pm

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office launched a two-day, countywide crime and immigration sweep Thursday that authorities say will focus on drop houses, drug violators and human smuggling vehicles.

Four hundred deputies and volunteer posse members are taking part in the patrols. It's county Sheriff Joe Arpaio's 14th sweep since early 2008.

During the sweeps, deputies flood an area of a city _ in some cases heavily Latino areas _ to seek out traffic violators and arrest other alleged lawbreakers.

Critics say Arpaio's deputies have racially profiled Hispanics. The sheriff says deputies approach people only when they have probable cause to believe people had committed crimes.

http://azstarnet.com/news/state-and-reg ... d4e56.html