Arpaio Awaits Justice as Election Looms

Accountability trumps popularity.

When former County Attorney Andrew Thomas conspired with Sheriff Arpaio to arrest and indict their political opponents on the Board of Supervisors and in the state judiciary, the State Bar of Arizona investigated the witch hunts and then revoked Thomas' ability to practice law.

Chris Whetzel

www.msco.org

Joe Arpaio: "Well, you know, they call you KKK. They did me. I think it's an honor."

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More About

• Joe Arpaio
• Lorena Escamilla
• Brian Sands
• Immigration
• Illegal Immigration and Deportation

But President Barack Obama and the Justice Department ducked their own four-year criminal investigation of the sheriff. Despite Arpaio's diverting $100 million from the jail-enhancement fund to underwrite immigration sweeps, the feds announced that they were dropping the probe.

Their announcement was timed for prime political impact and coincided with the sheriff's well-publicized speech at a rally outside the Republican National Convention.

If the Justice Department ducked the criminal investigation, they blinked on the civil probe of the sheriff.

After announcing at a press event that they had determined Sheriff Arpaio engaged in the worst pattern of racial profiling in the history of American law enforcement, the Justice Department told incredulous onlookers that they intended to collaborate with him to correct the situation. Rather than sue in a civil action, the feds suggested that they could work with the sheriff.

In a tight election cycle, President Obama did not want to provoke Arpaio and his national base of fans and funds.

Appeasement did not work.

The sheriff told the feds to take a walk. He wouldn't be collaborating.

The Justice Department belatedly announced a civil action.

But the heavy lifting of litigation was carried by the ACLU, MALDEF, and Covington & Burling.

In 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower sent federal troops to join the National Guard in Arkansas to protect the rights of black children trying to secure an equal education. Citing "the leadership of demagogic extremists," Eisenhower confronted local politicians and law enforcement in Little Rock.

Instead of confronting the obviously outrageous behavior of Sheriff Arpaio, the federal government enabled it. Obama's director of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, allowed the sheriff and his deputies to become America's largest force in their 287(g) deportation program.

Napolitano, former governor and U.S. Attorney of Arizona, knew explicitly what a thug the sheriff was. The brutality and death in his jails, Tent City, pink underwear, chain gangs, and the early stages of immigrant bashing began under her watch.

SB 1070, the incendiary "show us your papers" legislation was not signed by Governor Jan Brewer until April 2010.

Had President Obama and the Justice Department stood up to Arpaio from the outset, the momentum for immigration extremism surrounding SB 1070 could have been challenged.

Instead, the sheriff fanned the flames of immigration hysteria for years beginning in 2007. The heat extended beyond mere roundups to full-scale media events based on the hunt for Mexicans and press conferences.

Arpaio conducted 32 crime-suppression sweeps and another 36 workplace raids.

In four years, the sheriff's crime-suppression sweeps stopped between 500 and 750 Hispanics out of more than 1,600 total stops. The estimate on Hispanics varies because records do not reflect race; last names are the only clue, though not a decisive one.

The big numbers were found inside Arpaio's jails.

This from an MCSO press release: "This year [2011] the Maricopa County Sheriff's Human Smuggling Unit has arrested over 2,500 illegal aliens involved in human smuggling and investigated over 50,000 in the jails and on the streets in the last three years."

President Obama explained to the nation that only serious criminals were targeted for deportation from American jails.

And that clearly was the intent when the sheriff signed the Memorandum of Understanding in February 2007 to set up the standards to license deputies to enforce 287(g).

Arpaio agreed specifically to target: "Criminal enterprises, organized criminal activities, gang activity, illegal trafficking of narcotics, and pervasive criminal activity."

Instead, he used cracked windshields to detain ordinary Mexicans.

A recent study found that 55 percent of those deported nationally had been charged with the most minor transgressions.

As Arpaio waits for a ruling in Melendres, SB 1070 remains a reality. In every encounter with a Hispanic, all law enforcement must inquire as to immigration status. There are consequences if a policeman does not ask.

It is not clear whether the pregnant Escamilla was the victim of a culture nurtured in Arpaio's command or she simply ran into a deputy having a bad day.

But it is clear what is happening since SB 1070 took effect.

Hugo Carrillo Escobedo was stopped for a traffic violation at 83rd Avenue and Thomas Road. He presented his registration, proof of insurance, and his visa. Informed that his visa had expired a month earlier, he was cited and his vehicle was towed.

After Escobedo was allowed to walk away, the officer who stopped him phoned and asked where he could find the high school student.

In short order, the policeman arrived at the Escobedo residence. The young man then was told he would be turned over to ICE.

"It's my job," explained the worried cop. "If I don't do it, I'll lose my job."

This is the hammer in SB 1070 used to force the police to sweep the streets of immigrants. Cops who do not challenge Mexicans face consequences.

Escobedo spent eight hours at ICE, where it was determined that he had a valid petition for legal status pending.