Thread: Chained Immigrants Paraded By Arizona Sheriff

February 13, 2009

Chained Immigrants Paraded By Arizona Sheriff

By Casey Sanchez

On February 3rd in Maricopa County, Ariz., more than 200 Latino immigrants were chained, dressed in prison stripes and forced to march down a public street from a county jail to a detainment camp in a desert industrial zone outside Phoenix.

Along the way they were filmed by television news crews and guarded by at least 50 Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) deputies, wearing body armor and combat fatigues, armed with shotguns and automatic rifles. At least two canine units were present; a Sheriff’s Department helicopter hovered overhead.

The massive show of force was pure stagecraft for a blatant and dehumanizing publicity stunt orchestrated by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The MCSO gave no indication that any of the immigrant prisoners were particularly violent or presented a grave danger to the public.

According to a MCSO press release, 220 immigrants were transferred to a “Tent Cityâ€

Go Joe....... round them up... detain them where you have too, MAKE them pick up the funk they left in the desert and deport them back to where they came from

February 13, 2009

The Face of the New American Bigot

Arizona Watch

By Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez
New America Media

On the issue of immigration, there is little difference between conservatives and extremists. Both camps have come to greatly admire Sheriff Joe Arpaio – America’s toughest sheriff. To this Arizona lawman, there is nothing wrong with racially profiling red-brown peoples and communities And of course, his supporters applaud his every antic, including the recent public spectacle of humiliating some 220 migrants in Phoenix by parading them in public.

This is arguably why the GOP is dying. Arpaio has become the Bull Conner of our times. For conservative Republicans to embrace him – akin to how extremists embrace him – gives the nation a clear message: the GOP is more interested in preserving its outdated ideology and (racial) heritage, than in expanding its base.

As the economy continues its uncontrolled convulsions, the nation also continues to convulse with an increasing number of ugly cases of racial bigotry and acts of violence against immigrants.

Indeed, this era is now marked by the rise of the New American Bigot. The old one has undergone an extreme makeover; save for lawman Arpaio, the New American bigot is no longer the Aryan extremist or unrepentant segregationist. George Wallace is out and CNN’s jolly Lou Dobbs is in.

Don’t misunderstand: Racial supremacists and ultra-nationalists are up in arms because of President Obama’s historic election. Many are on a gun-buying shopping spree. Others are prophesizing doomsday.

However, among the nation’s mainstream body politic, outward displays of racial bigotry are generally now frowned upon. The GOP has a new face, which is but a mask. Witness the election of Michael Steele to head the Republican Party, or what has now become America’s far-right, anti-immigrant party. Steele’s mission is to convince people generally not attracted to his party that they are now welcome under the GOP’s shrinking white tent. With Obama in office, the chance of siphoning off black voters is nil.

Theoretically, sizeable inroads could be made from the expanding Latino/Latina electorate. Yet with racially tinged xenophobia rampant within the GOP, the chances of making inroads there don’t look good. Unquestionably, xenophobia is also present within Democratic circles; it’s just not trumpeted as loud.

The GOP’s inability to attract new voters has little to do with an image or perception problem. As long as their views come wrapped in patriotism, legalese and law-and-order, they believe that their views are appealing to all. Outward displays of racial bigotry are out, but one exception is allowed: “illegal aliens.â€

I'm starting to get the feeling that Mexicans don't like people who expect them to obey our laws.

They chained CRIMINALS and walked them across the street in orange jump suits on their way to court. Had them chained together in their orange suits to do pick up work on the sides of streets and such. Complete with being armed and such. My Dad was a guard at Statesville and they were chained and taken around for various things. They are CRIMINALS. Lets not cloud the issue here! Tried to do that between legal and illegal immigrants and now illegal and a criminal.

I remember reading the article about the jails in Mexico....real classy joint and then someone here said that any luxeries you had, like a bed or something, you're family had to bring. On the radio this morning....don't know what jail or prison, they were talking about making the prisoners pay for toliet paper and such........all I could think was the years where this country fought for human rights, womens rights, animal rights, prisoners rights and here we are going backwards with everything and these jerks keep on complaining how awful it is, when it's better than about anywhere else in the world. I'm so sick of their exagerations and complaining.

[quote]Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, an outspoken critic of Arpaio’s immigrant-bashing antics, told the Associated Press that today’s parade was “one of the most inhumane things I’ve ever heard.â€