Undocumented immigrant arrests in Maricopa hit 1051
Reported by: Katrina Wessman
Email: kwessman@abc15.com
Last Update: 4:07 pm

(Marnie McKim) Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Human Smuggling Unit has arrested 1051 undocumented immigrants under the Arizona felony human smuggling law as of Wednesday, according to a new report.

Arpaio's Human Smuggling Unit said they recently arrested 16 more suspected undocumented immigrants in the North Valley, including smugglers and 13 co-conspirators in the New River area within one hour.

Suspected smuggler David Oscar Urquiza-Rodriguez, 27, and eight co-conspirators were arrested after being discovered inside a Ford on their way to California, Chicago, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

Two suspected smugglers, 28-year-old Marcelino De La Cruz-Villegas and 44-year-old Fortunato Mendoza-Santos, and five conspirators were found inside a Chevrolet vehicle and were arrested.

Interviews with those arrested determined that each person agreed to pay between $200 and $11,000 for being smuggled.

Every suspect arrested was booked directly into jail and are non-bondable under law.

"We're hitting the illegal immigration problem from every angle," said Arpaio.

The Arizona Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of the Sheriff's arrests of both smugglers and co-conspirators under the Arizona human smuggling law for the second time.

According to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, they continue to be "the only Arizona law enforcement agency to enforce all aspects of the Arizona anti-human smuggling laws, despite repeated court victories and remarkable success with the 1051 arrests that have been made."

The Sheriff says he is "baffled by the Arizona Governor's redirection of well over one million dollars allocated to his Office by the State Legislature to enforce this very specific law."

Since the money was taken away, Sheriff's deputies have arrested 95 more undocumented immigrants under the human smuggling law.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says, "Within seven days, over 100 Sheriff's deputies and posse members will organize and carry-out another facet in the Sheriff's efforts to combat illegal immigration."

The report goes on to say, "These crime deterrence operations are another vehicle to fight crime and illegal immigration, and in the process gain voluntary compliance with immigration laws."
Copyright 2008 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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