Thread: Arpaio, Thomas should enforce laws, not make them

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Arpaio, Thomas should enforce laws, not make them

Krysten Sinema
My Turn
Dec. 1, 2006 12:00 AM

Fourteen county attorneys in Arizona have no trouble following Arizona law. Only one county attorney, Maricopa's Andrew Thomas, has decided to rewrite a law to fit his narrow-minded agenda ("The power of convictions," Opinions, Monday).

The voters elected Thomas to enforce the laws, not to rewrite them as he chooses.

Thomas has used an anti-smuggling law to charge migrants with conspiring to smuggle themselves. The spirit of this law was to bring down smuggling rings, not to target maids and gardeners.

Thomas has charged hundreds of migrants under this law.

Rep. Jonathan Paton, the Republican legislator who sponsored this bill, has repeatedly said that Thomas betrayed his intent to punish smugglers. Paton has even said he believes he would not have gotten the necessary votes if he had intended for the law to go after migrants.

People who are smuggled into this country are often victimized by coyotes. The coyotes abuse them, hold them for ransom, even leave them to die in the desert. Unfortunately, Thomas' actions have detracted from the seriousness of the crime of human smuggling.

I joined several other lawmakers and human rights groups in November in filing a federal class action lawsuit against Thomas and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio because they have improperly used this law to further their agenda and have violated the constitutional rights of many people in the process.

Thomas and Arpaio have allowed their personal missions to prevent them from focusing on their jobs: enforcing the laws. The real reason Thomas and Arpaio have rewritten the anti-smuggling law is because they desire more media attention.

Thomas has even set up an inflammatory Web site that he calls his "Illegal Immigration Journal," which is nothing more than propaganda. I do not believe his offensive Web site is an appropriate use of monies from his office.

When the 2007 legislative session convenes in January, Democrats in the Arizona House of Representatives will introduce a bill that will prevent Thomas and Arpaio from continuing to rewrite this law.

If Thomas and Arpaio want the authority to rewrite state laws, they should campaign for a seat in the Legislature. Until then, they should focus more of their efforts on doing their jobs, not our job.

The writer, a Democrat, represents District 15 (central Phoenix) in the Arizona House of Representatives. She can be reached at ksinema@azleg.gov.

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Arpaio, Thomas do uphold the law

Dec. 4, 2006 12:00 AM

Regarding "Arpaio, Thomas should enforce laws, not make them" by state Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix (Opinions, Friday):

Enforcing the law is exactly what Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio are doing, and I support these gentlemen. Just because they do not interpret the law like Sinema does not mean they are wrong.

Sinema criticizes Thomas and Arpaio, saying their application of the law detracts from the seriousness of the crime. She also says the application of the law has violated the constitutional rights of many people.

Exactly whose rights are being violated? Surely she knows illegal aliens by definition have no constitutional rights. Surely she is aware that people are fed up with illegal immigration and all the consequences of it. And surely she is aware that, overwhelmingly, people in this county support what Arpaio and Thomas are doing.

Who is she pandering to? Illegal aliens cannot vote.

Sinema doesn't seem to grasp the seriousness of the problem