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The Reign of 'Sheriff Joe'
Submitted by jgehring on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 12:45pm.
Story summary:
Manuel De Jesus Ortega Melendres, a Mexican citizen, entered the United States legally last fall, using a visa valid until 2016 as well as a permit from the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Ortega had every reason to believe he was on the right side of the law, except for one small misstep: being brown in Maricopa County. Maricopa, which includes Phoenix, is home to more than half of Arizona's 6.2 million people. It is also the domain of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is determined to make life miserable for illegal immigrants.
The Reign of 'Sheriff Joe'
Washington Post
7-28-08
Sheriff Joe likes to refer to his blatantly unconstitutional campaign of harassment as "crime suppression sweeps." These "sweeps" have been denounced not only by Latino groups, which consider them overtly racist, but also by the mayor of Phoenix, who has asked the Justice Department to investigate, and by Gov. Janet Napolitano, who has withdrawn state funding from the sheriff's office.