By Mike Sunnucks
Phoenix Business Journal
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he deputized 15 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents this weekend even as his agency spares with the federal government over immigration raids.
The action allows ICE agents to enforce state and county laws in the field. The move comes after MCSO deputies turned in some of their federal law enforcement credentials after the Obama adminstration changed an immigration enforcment deal with Arpaio.
The previous 287(g) agreement allowed the MCSO to arrest undocumented workers only on immigration charges out in the field and during crime sweeps and business raids. The new 287(g) agreement only allows MCSO to charge illegal immigrants when they are booked into county jails on other charges.
The deputziing of the ICE agents, however, has some anti-Arpaio activitists wondering if there is something else behind the action. Arpaio continues to make immigration arrests despite the changed federal agreement exercising state laws against human smuggling and businesses hiring illegal immigrants to continue to arrest undocumented immigrants.
Arpaio said deputizing the ICE agents is in the best interest of public safety.
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2009/10/26/daily1.html
