Immigration ‘Enforcement’ lets illegals go

EDITORIAL: Politics on ICE

Immigration ‘Enforcement’ lets illegals go

In an apparent vendetta against a sheriff in Arizona who is tough on illegal immigration, the Obama administration has crossed another boundary. The treatment of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is yet another sign of the administration’s dangerous hyperpoliticization of federal law enforcement.

In the course of a wider crime sweep on July 23 and 24 that netted numerous arrests, the sheriff’s department requested permission from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain 13 illegal immigrants and transfer them to ICE’s custody. The end result, amidst conflicting stories, was that all 13 illegals were let go.

Sheriff Arpaio blamed ICE. However, Matthew Chandler, Washington-based spokesman for the federal Department of Homeland Security (ICE’s parent agency), issued a statement saying that “the determination to release these individuals lies solely within the [sheriff's office]…. [On July 23], ICE gave the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office permission to interview the three individuals in question, arrest, and initiate removal proceedings — instead Sheriff Arpaio released them.â€