Rogue Arizona sheriff refuses to comply with Feds
By John Byrne Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 -- 8:46 am
Sheriff Joe Arpaio is at it again.
A lawyer for the rogue Arizona sheriff who's staked his position as one
of the most vociferous defenders of Arizona's new draconian immigration
law
now says his client will not comply with a request from the Feds to turn over documents related to a civil rights investigation.
Arizona's new immigration law requires officers enforcing other laws to check a
person's immigration status if they suspect the person is in the country
illegally. Critics have labeled it racial profiling, and the Obama
Administration has taken moves to overrule it.
Arpaio, who polices the most populous county in Arizona, has drawn national attention for his aggressive tactics.
In July, the Maricopa County Sheriff said that if protesters want to block his jail over the new law,
he'd put them in it.
Arpaio told Good Morning America that he didn't understand what the "hype" was about the law.
In April, Arpaio also claimed that driving immigrants out of the US would create
job openings for US citizens.
In April, the sheriff said of the civil rights case -- in which he's now
refusing to turn over documents -- that "60 days into the Obama
administration, [Obama] sent his Justice Department down to the Phoenix
area to investigate me for alleged racial profiling. It's been a year
and a half and nothing has happened. So, we know how to enforce the
illegal immigration laws without racial profiling."
Robert Driscoll, Arpaio's attorney, says the sheriff is refusing because the Justice Department's request is too broad.
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