during his four terms in office.
He built his secondary jail out in the desert and placed the inmates in these tents
wearing pink underwear.
He stopped serving coffee when it got expensive and
meals became cold meat, often bologna, sandwiches.
He is currently running for a fifth term and seems likely to be re-elected.
But dark clouds are also descending on the Sherrif and his operation.
The current concern involves arresting illegal immigrants and other legal resident
Hispanics.
"A federal lawsuit by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
accuses the sheriff’s department of racial profiling and detaining legal residents
and American citizens for long periods while their status is checked.
The Government Accountability Office, a watchdog arm of Congress,
is re-evaluating a program under which federal officials trained the deputies here
and elsewhere in immigration enforcement.
And the mayor of Phoenix, Phil Gordon, has asked the Justice Department
to investigate the tactics employed by Sheriff Arpaio, who first gained national attention
years ago for forcing inmates to wear pink underwear, housing them in tents
and feeding them food of a green hue."
The quote is from a New York Times article that details the accusations.
The focus of the challenges is that the Sheriff's deputies are using racial profiling
and requiring not only a driver's license from Hispanics but a social security card
or other secondary items as well. Anglos need only show a driver's license
when stopped. In addition all are asked about their immigration status.
It will be interesting to watch developments in the various investigations.
There is divided opinion across the country on the constitutional role
police and/or sheriffs should play in respect to the capture of illegal immigrants.
Where do you stand on this issue?
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