The revelation today that top deputies at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office were behind the shadowy SCA shows Sheriff Arpaio and his minions “aren’t willing to come out and have a fair fight,” says Arpaio’s longtime political opponent, Dan Saban. Saban (pictured) ran against Arpaio in 2008 as a Democrat and was slammed with one of the…
We sent Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio a question on Twitter about the newly uncovered SCA donors that include his top brass. No response yet. We left messages for Arpaio and his chief deputy, Dave Hendershott — one of the SCA’s top donors — but they didn’t return calls. Instead,…
Captain Joel Fox (at right) doesn’t have to worry about a $315,000 fine, but the legal woes for him and other SCA contributors may not be over. A settlement agreement between Fox and the Maricopa County Elections Department drops the main case against him, though the process of uncovering the SCA’s…
Plenty of noise has been made today about the arrest of Raphael Libardi, owner of a granite-importing business busted on suspicion of identity theft. A news release by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas calls it a “historic first.” An Associated Press article calls Libardi the “first business owner in Arizona…
A private eye hired by the Recording Industry Association of America called the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for help with pirated movies, leading to the arrests of two illegal immigrants.Two women in their 20s, Karina Romero-Figueroa, 24 and Judith Romero-Figueroa, [both pictured below], were busted at “the Mercado” near U.S…
Janet Napolitano, U.S. Homeland Security Security, announced today that federal contractors must use the E-Verify program to help weed out illegal immigrants.Arizona law already requires use of the federal program for any business making a new hire and in state government contract work. About a third of businesses reportedly use…
It sounds like Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has really turned up the heat on illegal immigrants. We did a double-take this morning after reading the following stat online. But then we saw the statement that Arpaio handed out yesterday at a news conference, which had the same figure:The sheriff’s…
This building on Broadway Road used to house Hustler Hollywood Tempe. It couldn’t find customers, and now it’s becoming — a preschool. What is the world coming to? …
Okay, there are a few things about Ruth McClung we like right off the bat: She’s a rock climber. She likes the Beatles. She paints flowers. But, c’mon. Raul Grijalva isn’t even going to break a sweat. McClung’s running for Congress against Grijalva, a four-time incumbent Democrat from Congressional District…
State House Speaker Kirk Adams, a Mesa Republican, has launched a series of YouTube videos that explain Arizona’s budget crisis — from the point of view of Republican legislators like him, of course. Sonoran Alliance, (where we first read about the videos), calls the series a public-relations offensive. Adams has apparently decided Governor Jan…
The State Senate is scheduled to vote today on a bill that would prohibit Arizona schools from offering classes that encourage “ethnic solidarity.” The bill also bans classes “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group.” Pushed by state schools chief Tom Horne, its main target is a $2-million “Raza Studies”…
The Arizona Supreme Court today decided not to force lawmakers to send Governor Jan Brewer a budget bill she wants to veto, but only because lawmakers said they’d send the bill in five days. Brewer’s argument — that the State Legislature should not be allowed to hold back on sending the…
So-called “Border Czar” Alan Bersin and other Homeland Security officials met with state Attorney General Terry Goddard today to discuss how to get different agencies working better together. During the meeting, Bersin (pictured above) reportedly called Arizona, “the most lawless corridor on the Southwest border.” We have no idea what…
President Obama seemed to express support for major immigration reform during a speech at the Esperanza National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. this morning, promising better border security and a form of amnesty for illegal immigrants. Obama says, “we’re taking steps to strengthen border security, and we must build…
With the deadline fast approaching to reveal the names of the SCA members or face a $315,000 fine, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Captain Joel Fox begged election officials this month to let him disclose the names in private. Fox, who obviously missed his calling as a lawyer, continues to argue in correspondence with county…
Maybe this Phoenix police recruitment billboard does wonders for recruitment… … but it sure as heck doesn’t inspire confidence in the police force…
Blogger and former Republican lawmaker Greg Patterson opened a tasty can of worms recently, pointing out that Attorney General Terry Goddard has apparently run afoul of the state’s “resign-to-run” law. Goddard, a Democrat, recently told a crowd during a speech that “I intend to run for governor.” Other media outlets have begun running…
The government has a program in place that could freeze illegal workers from the workplace — E-Verify. But political leaders on both sides of the aisle don’t want to use it. Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass makes this point today with quotes from a former immigration agent from Scottsdale, Neville Cramer (pictured). As…
How times change. Four years ago, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano sent the feds a bill for $118 million, the amount she said the state had paid to incarcerate illegal immigrant prisoners. Now, as an A-list fed herself, Napolitano expects residents of her former home to be happy with $12.8 million…
The Arizona Republic’s immigration reporter, Daniel Gonzalez, came across some interesting stats today from the Phoenix Police Department’s Professional Standards Bureau that show cops aren’t asking arrestees about immigration status, like they’re supposed to. Police put the rule into effect in May of 2008 after months of controversial debate (which…
So-called human traffickers were apparently trying to set up shop in Arizona before authorities caught up to them. According a May indictment of 12 people, including eight from Uzbekistan, the alleged traffickers had already brought several immigrants to Missouri for construction projects, intentionally allowing them to overstay their work…
The wrestling match between Governor Jan Brewer, her veteran political consultant, and other Republicans is breaking out of the cage. A conservative blog site, Gila Courier, points out that High Ground, the lobby group run by Brewer’s consultant, Chuck Coughlin, has several Republican legislators as clients. Point being that these…
