Several have been worried about Arizona. They happen to be debating in the state. Governor Jan Brewer decried SB1070, the law allowing officials to verify immigration status of everybody they come into contact with, which the Obama administration has challenged with constitutional grounds, although it is still unsettled. The feud between the Grand Canyon State and also the federal government has intensified, as the Justice Department is suing the controversial Sheriff of Maricopa County, Joe Arpaio. Joe Arpaio allegedly didn’t cooperate in a civil rights abuse investigation, says the Justice Department.
Joe Arpaio was the sheriff suspected of discrimination
The investigation started to fight tactics Sheriff Joe Arpaio supposedly used. Evidently he wanted to “sweep” illegal immigrants by only targeting Hispanics, whether or not they were legal. The Los Angeles Times reports that Hispanic areas were targeted by the Maricopa County Sheriff deputies that stopped every person for anything. Deputies were designed to verify immigration status while there. Before the Arizona immigration law was even proposed, they were doing this. Sheriff Arpaio didn’t comply when asked by the Justice Department to give documentation of these sweeps. Allegedly, he denied federal investigators access to buildings and refused to hand over requested material.
Lawsuits are expected
The Maricopa Sheriff is no stranger to lawsuits. Several have perished in his jail they call “Tent City” which has caused him to be sued multiple times. It is called tent city because it is an area in the desert surrounded by barbed wire fences that has tents in it. There is also an ongoing investigation into the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office including Sheriff Arpaio by the grand jury. This is happening, reports ABC because of corruption. The Justice Department made the first request for documents and other materials more than a year ago. A federal judge found the Sheriff’s Office had destroyed documents pertaining to the sweeps in question that attorneys suing Arpaio’s department were entitled to see.
Further reading
ABC News
blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/09/justice-department-sues-arizona-sheriff-joe-arpaio.html
LA Times
latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-lawsuit-arpaio-20100903,,2874529.story
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