Sheriff Joe Arpaio offers to detain illegal immigrants

By KEVIN CIRILLI | 2/28/13 6:18 AM EST
POLITICO

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Arpaio says he's suspicious of the reasons behind releasing the immigrants. | Reuters

Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio says he has a solution for the federal government’s mass release of illegal immigrants to cut costs ahead of the sequester: Send them to his “Tent City.”

Arpaio — the outspoken Arizona sheriff of Maricopa County known for his tough stance on illegal immigration — says he’d take the prisoners free of charge at Tent City, his controversial Phoenix-based jail in the desert, where prisoners sleep in tents and are required to wear pink underwear.

“I’ll take them. I have room in my tents. I would be happy to have them – and I wouldn’t even charge them. I would love to take them in the tents,” Arpaio told POLITICO.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials announced they’re releasing an unannounced number of illegal immigrants held in immigration jails in order to cut costs as the country nears sequestration, the automatic $1.2 trillion cuts in federal spending that start Friday.

Arpaio doesn’t buy it.

“I am always suspicious when the government that has billions of dollars has to say, ’We are going to release [illegal immigrants] because of budget problems.’ I’m wary of that. They’re utilizing a budget so-called crisis as the reason to kick these people loose. I do have a concern about that.”

As Congress grapples with a bipartisan immigration proposal — led by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), among others — Arpaio said that the fed’s action could backfire.

“What are they trying to do – stimulate or pressure Congress? It’s just going to make them agitated. It’s a stupid game when you really look at it that’s going to backfire,” he said.

Arpaio also said he had learned about the release from a reporter’s phone call and criticized government officials for not alerting him.

“The government never told me about this. You would think they’d at least say, ‘Hey, we’re releasing [the estimated 300 illegal immigrants in Arizona] and we just want you to know that there’s 300 illegal aliens floating around your area.’ It would’ve been nice, come to think of it, for them to let every law enforcement agency know,” Arpaio said.

He also said that he’s concerned the released detainees will flee the country.

“There’s something called amnesty, this is just another pathway to that when you kick these people lose. And when you say, ‘We’re going to have these people report back to a court’ — do you think they’re going to come back? No. They’re heading south or to another state,” he said. “How are they going to keep track of all the people they kicked out on the street? They can’t.”

Bottom line, Arpaio said, “If they’re here illegally, they should be deported.”

Sheriff Joe Arpaio offers to detain illegal immigrants - Kevin Cirilli - POLITICO.com