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From Phoenix, Arizona to the World Wide Web
Reverend Sharpton: Arizona an Equal Place When
Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio “Is Out of Town”
Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio “Is Out of Town”
“You cannot be a law enforcer and a law breaker at the same time,” said the civil rights leader
about Joe Arpaio’s immigration sweeps.
about Joe Arpaio’s immigration sweeps.
Multimedia by Eduardo Barraza | View Photogallery | WATCH VIDEO
Phoenix, Arizona, October 19, 2009 - Reverend Al Sharpton believes Arizona can be as “equal as
everyone else when it comes to civil rights.” That is, when Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio “is
out of town.”
The statement was made during his October 16 visit to Phoenix, Arizona, where he was a speaker
at a civil rights forum organized by ASU's Center of Community Development and Civil Rights.
Referring to Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s controversial “crime sweeps,” Sharpton told a crowd of about 200
hundred people, “You cannot be a law enforcer and a law breaker at the same time.” He also sent
a message to the Sheriff: “...The Civil War is over and the federal government won.”
Sharpton joined Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, and civil rights veteran Latino leader Raul
Yzaguirre, to be part of the forum that addressed other aspects of civil rights in Arizona.
Sharton and Arpaio met last June amid protests. Police maintained a heavy presence when heated
arguments among Sheriff’s opponents and supporters erupted in verbal confrontations that stirred
up the volatile social environment Phoenix has been witnessing in the last few years.
Sharpton’s visit on October 16 happened on the same day when a defiant Arpaio conducted yet
another of his department’s controversial sweeps that have drawn his department sharp criticism
and praise, protests and counter protests, lawsuits and more support.
When it comes to his Memoranda of Agreement with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE,)
the sheriff’s modus operandi has also attracted an investigation by the Department of Justice, and
just recently, the loss of his street patrol 287 (g) enforcement power taken away by the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The Sheriff’s Department has been accused of practicing racial profiling and other civil rights
violations, as his deputies and posse target motorists with certain characteristics in almost entirely
Latino-populated areas.
Arpaio’s 12th crime suppression sweep in Maricopa County came on the same day when Assistant
Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) John Morton announced
standardized Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) with 67 state and local law enforcement
agencies to participate in 287(g) partnerships.
According to Morton’s announcement, “state and local law enforcement partnerships conform to the
standardized 287(g) MOA announced by Department of Homeland.” DHL immigration enforcement’s
strategy seeks to align “local operations with ICE’s major priorities, specifically the identification
and removal of criminal aliens.”
As DHL made this announcement and Sharpton was in Phoenix just blocks away where an anti-
sheriff’s small protest was taking place, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department (MCSO) was moving
forward with their characteristic two-day “crime suppression operation” in Northwest Phoenix.
MCSO’s operation was deployed even with the federal government’s decision to limit their capability
on the streets as of October 16. Later in a press release, the Sheriff announced that Friday and
Saturday’s operation incorporated “all aspects of illegal immigration laws such as employer
sanctions, human smuggling, and crime suppression.”
The press release also stated deputies will add a new tactic during this type of operations: special
teams with cameras to video tape deputies as they interact with the public, a move aimed to
counteract protesters’ own videotaping of MCSO’s raids.
According to MCSO’s information, the two-day operation “netted the arrest of 66 suspects, 30 of
which were suspected of being in the country illegally.” Deputies turned over a total of 19 of the 30
suspected illegal aliens who were not charged for any state violations to Immigration and Customs
Enforcement officials without incident.
MCSO also conducted a raid as part of an Arizona state employer sanctions law at “On Your Way
Carwash and Quick Lube,” a car-wash business in Peoria, Arizona, supposedly based on
information that led to an investigation about car-wash employees engaging in identity theft. Nine
suspects were arrested during the raid.
everyone else when it comes to civil rights.” That is, when Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio “is
out of town.”
The statement was made during his October 16 visit to Phoenix, Arizona, where he was a speaker
at a civil rights forum organized by ASU's Center of Community Development and Civil Rights.
Referring to Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s controversial “crime sweeps,” Sharpton told a crowd of about 200
hundred people, “You cannot be a law enforcer and a law breaker at the same time.” He also sent
a message to the Sheriff: “...The Civil War is over and the federal government won.”
Sharpton joined Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, and civil rights veteran Latino leader Raul
Yzaguirre, to be part of the forum that addressed other aspects of civil rights in Arizona.
Sharton and Arpaio met last June amid protests. Police maintained a heavy presence when heated
arguments among Sheriff’s opponents and supporters erupted in verbal confrontations that stirred
up the volatile social environment Phoenix has been witnessing in the last few years.
Sharpton’s visit on October 16 happened on the same day when a defiant Arpaio conducted yet
another of his department’s controversial sweeps that have drawn his department sharp criticism
and praise, protests and counter protests, lawsuits and more support.
When it comes to his Memoranda of Agreement with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE,)
the sheriff’s modus operandi has also attracted an investigation by the Department of Justice, and
just recently, the loss of his street patrol 287 (g) enforcement power taken away by the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The Sheriff’s Department has been accused of practicing racial profiling and other civil rights
violations, as his deputies and posse target motorists with certain characteristics in almost entirely
Latino-populated areas.
Arpaio’s 12th crime suppression sweep in Maricopa County came on the same day when Assistant
Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) John Morton announced
standardized Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) with 67 state and local law enforcement
agencies to participate in 287(g) partnerships.
According to Morton’s announcement, “state and local law enforcement partnerships conform to the
standardized 287(g) MOA announced by Department of Homeland.” DHL immigration enforcement’s
strategy seeks to align “local operations with ICE’s major priorities, specifically the identification
and removal of criminal aliens.”
As DHL made this announcement and Sharpton was in Phoenix just blocks away where an anti-
sheriff’s small protest was taking place, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department (MCSO) was moving
forward with their characteristic two-day “crime suppression operation” in Northwest Phoenix.
MCSO’s operation was deployed even with the federal government’s decision to limit their capability
on the streets as of October 16. Later in a press release, the Sheriff announced that Friday and
Saturday’s operation incorporated “all aspects of illegal immigration laws such as employer
sanctions, human smuggling, and crime suppression.”
The press release also stated deputies will add a new tactic during this type of operations: special
teams with cameras to video tape deputies as they interact with the public, a move aimed to
counteract protesters’ own videotaping of MCSO’s raids.
According to MCSO’s information, the two-day operation “netted the arrest of 66 suspects, 30 of
which were suspected of being in the country illegally.” Deputies turned over a total of 19 of the 30
suspected illegal aliens who were not charged for any state violations to Immigration and Customs
Enforcement officials without incident.
MCSO also conducted a raid as part of an Arizona state employer sanctions law at “On Your Way
Carwash and Quick Lube,” a car-wash business in Peoria, Arizona, supposedly based on
information that led to an investigation about car-wash employees engaging in identity theft. Nine
suspects were arrested during the raid.
| Operation Immigration Arrests, Protests, and Turmoil in Maricopa County |
| A raw-footage documentary of the highly controversial immigration sweeps conducted by the Maricopa County Sheriff Office, in the heart of Arizona. A revealing visual testimony of a Sheriff determined to fight undocumented immigration, and the struggle of human rights advocates and people decided to stop him. This DVD shows an unquestionable evidence of the crude and volatile social atmosphere prevailing in one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States. |
| Price: $20.00 +s/h $3.80 Total $23.80 Lenght: 45 minutes EAN: 978-0-9797814-6-9 |
| Send mail orders to: HISI PO Box 50553 Mesa, Arizona 85208-0028 Include check or Money Order payable to HISI in the amount of $23.80 |
| Another great product by the Arizona-based Hispanic Institute of Social Issues |
| Hispanic Institute of Social Issues © 2006-2010 All rights reserved. webmaster@hisi.org |
Eduardo Barraza is a journalist and writer,
Barriozona Magazine's editor, and director of
the Hispanic Insitute of Social Issues.
E-mail: editor@barriozona.com
Barriozona Magazine's editor, and director of
the Hispanic Insitute of Social Issues.
E-mail: editor@barriozona.com
| Rev. Al Sharpton's and Sheriff Arpaio Meet in Phoenix SEE COVERAGE |
| M U L T I M E D I A |
| S P E C I A L C O V E R A G E |
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| RELATED ARTICLE - ASU's Center for Community Development and Civil Rights Hosting Community Forum to Seek Dialogue |