Supervisors turn down state funds for illegal immigration enforcement

by Yvonne Wingett
June 17, 2009 12:33 PM
The Arizona Republic

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday did not accept $1.4 million in state funds to help the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and the Sheriff's Office enforce illegal immigration laws.

The motion to accept the money died in a 2-2 vote. The issue will likely be brought back on a future agenda, although it is unclear when.

Supervisors Mary Rose Wilcox and Don Stapley voted against accepting the funds. Wilcox is the subject of a criminal investigation by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and the Sheriff’s Office also was involved in a criminal investigation into Stapley, who was indicted in December on possible misstatements and omissions in his financial-disclosure forms.

Wilcox, a vocal critic of immigration enforcement procedures at the Sheriff’s Office, declined to accept the funds: “This funding, because of past actions particularly by the sheriff, would be very misused,â€