Arizona Sheriff Arpaio to Unleash 800 Deputies on Undocumented Immigrants

New America Media, News Report, Text and Photos: Valeria Fernández , Posted: Feb 15, 2010

PHOENIX -- Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced last week that he would train 881 of his own deputies to arrest undocumented migrants in the course of their normal duties.

The announcement by the Maricopa County sheriff has come under fire from some legal scholars who argue he would be acting beyond the scope of the law and immigrant advocates who say this would further weaken the immigrant community’s tenuous relationship with law enforcement officials.

Arpaio’s controversial immigration sweeps of Latino neighborhoods led to claims of racial profiling. In October, the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revoked an agreement, known as 287(g), that allowed 160 of his officers to act as immigration agents.

Now, Arpaio says he can do this under his own authority. He has enlisted the help of Kris W. Kobach, a University of Missouri law professor, who was an advisor to former attorney general John Ashcroft during the Bush administration. Kobach, who works as an attorney for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, was paid an undisclosed amount of money to oversee the two-hour training.

Kobach argues that local police have “inherent authorityâ€