S.C. eyes Ariz. immigration ideas
By Savannah Morning News
Created 2008-07-01 23:30

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Famously strong tactics in Arizona could work against illegal immigration in South Carolina.

That's why Rep. Bill Herbkersman, R-Bluffton, is planning to organize a trip to Maricopa County, Ariz. The goal is for coastal legislators, area law enforcement and solicitors to see how a controversial sheriff, Joe Arpaio, operates seven jails, in which a quarter of the inmates are illegal aliens.

"If that wheel's already working out, we don't have to invent it all over again," Herbkersman said.

Arpaio has been accused of racial profiling and brutality toward inmates, but department spokesman Deputy Sheriff Doug Matteson says Arpaio adheres closely to state and federal laws.

Herbkersman said he is concerned by crimes committed in his district by illegal immigrants and the difficulty authorities face apprehending them.

"The trip out there to Arizona was initiated by me, just because of what's happening here," the lawmaker said.

If the Lowcountry officials make the trip to the central Arizona county, they will be among the weekly visitors who come from around the world to meet 76-year-old Arpaio, according to Matteson. He said visitors typically tour the county's jails, including one known as "Tent City," in which inmates live in tents in the desert.

Another feature that sets the department apart from others, Matteson said, is the high number of officials who receive immigration training from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"Instead of deporting them, he arrests them," said Matteson said of Arpaio. "Instead of giving them a free ride back to Mexico, (and) within two weeks they're back again, now they are fully sentenced to a Class 5 felony, which means they can never be a citizen."

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