Is it any coincidence that on the same day the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office makes headlines for releasing an illegal immigrant from jail who's suspected of subsequently murdering someone, Nickel-Bag Joe Arpaio announces he's going to have his deputies bust illegal immigrants on routine traffic stops? Well, shucks, maybe it is a coinkydink, but it's a funny one, and it shows how our illustrious lawman consistently misses the big pic while patting himself on the back for going after the easy collar and regaling the public with bread and circuses, like his retarded Inmate Idle competition. See, now that Arpaio's deps have been trained by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) every Hispanic man or woman they stop can be suspected of being illegal. Racial profiling? Sure. Petty as hell? You bet. But then, Arpaio's no great supporter of the U.S. Constitution. Why, he repeatedly violates the Constitutional rights of his inmates, the general public, and the press -- including this paper. Heck, I couldn't even get a callback from one of the Sheriff's lackeys on this issue if I wanted, all because the Sheriff's office refuses to deal with New Times. Seems we ask a lot of pesky questions and bother them with all types of records requests. They don't have time for that hooey! They're too busy stopping Pedro for suspicion of being illegal 'cause he's got a truck full of rakes and other garden implements.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Joke's deps release Ruben Perez Rivera into ICE's custody despite the fact that he was indicted later the same day on kidnapping charges. ICE deports him 'cause he's illegal, and he slips back in the country and allegedly stabs his cousin to death. To be fair, several players in the legal system bear some responsibility for Rivera's release. But the entire debacle does illustrate that while the Joke-man has his eye on harassing generally law-abiding undocumented individuals during traffic stops, a far more dangerous thug slips through Joke's fingers. Tough on crime our Sheriff Joke is, as long as the crimes involved are penny-ante. But we all know it's not about stopping even penny-ante crime. It's about intimidating Phoenix's Mexican population, keeping them cowed, and forever looking over their shoulders while they labor at jobs that Americans have hired them to do. The only way to trump the efforts of the likes of Nickel-Bag Joe is with federal law; i.e., comprehensive immigration reform, such as the type Congressman Jeff Flake has recently introduced into the House of Representatives. Only then will Joe have to content himself with making sure he doesn't mistakenly release hard-core criminals -- you know, basically doing his job?
