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Arizona Politics

County board postpones Arpaio's immigration funds
by Yvonne Wingett - Apr. 1, 2009 12:52 PM

In a bipartisan front, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted to postpone the acceptance of $1.6 million from the state to help pay for illegal immigration enforcement by Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

The money comes from an agreement with the state Department of Public Safety and is meant to supplement Arpaio's immigration enforcement.

Arpaio told The Arizona Republic that he would not comment on the board's decision. The board, which must accept the funds before Arpaio can have them, will take up the issue in 30 days. Supervisors Fulton Brock, Don Stapley, Max Wilson and Mary Rose Wilcox postponed the vote; Andy Kunasek wanted to accept the money.

At a meeting Wednesday morning, the five supervisors heard more than an hour of testimony from Arpaio critics, and officials with the Sheriff's Office.

The parade of opponents argued that the board should suspend or refuse to accept the money given an investigation into his operations by the U.S. Department of Justice, a congressional hearing Thursday into complaints that deputies are discriminating against Latinos while enforcing immigration laws, and the re-writing of guidelines by Homeland Security that allow Arpaio and other local law enforce federal immigration laws.

The supervisors also expressed concern that the Sheriff's Office has refused to submit a detailed list that includes suggested cuts of 20 percent. The contract with the state for the $1.6 million requires the county to demonstrate that it has 15 percent of the grant - $240,000 - to participate in the program.

"He's done a magnificent job with a lot of different things," Chairman Max Wilson said. "It's easy for me to say we want the Sheriff to go out and get the bad guys - and we do - and that's the reason I've supported him. But what isn't OK is what if they aren't the bad guys? And how are they treated if they aren't the bad guys?"

An executive order signed by former Gov. Janet Napolitano last year stripped Arpaio of the $1.6 million and redirected it to a fugitive task force.

Republican Legislative leadership gave the money back to Arpaio in a budget package earlier this year, saying it compensates for funds that Napolitano removed last year.


Reach the reporter at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4712.