Sheriff Arpaio continues his immigration sweeps

He says that the federal government’s move to strip deputies of their ICE agent status will not change anything.
SURPRISE, AZ – The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a crime suppression sweep in Surprise on Friday.

Lieutenant Brian Lee with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said Sheriff Joe Arpaio would start his 12th crime suppression operation at noon utilizing 200 sw More..orn and posse personnel.
He says that the federal government’s move to strip deputies of their ICE agent status will not change anything.
The command post for the operation will reportedly be located at the Sheriff’s Office District 3 sub station located at the intersection of Dysart and Bell roads.

According to Lee, Arpaio has vowed to continue his enforcement of all aspects of immigration laws and says that the federal government’s move to strip deputies of their ICE agent status will not change anything.

Arpaio will be at the command post at 5 p.m. this afternoon to address the media on the recent changes to his office’s 287g agreement which expired at midnight.

Lee said Arpaio will also be discussing the use of a new tool by his deputies to overcome safety and security concerns of deputies being videotaped and interfered with during the course of their duties.

At an October 6 news conference, Arpaio had promised another crime suppression sweep.

Citing a 1996 federal law, Arpaio said officials are allowed to detain someone briefly if that person is in the country illegally.

MCSO says it still believes it has the authority under federal law to detain undocumented immigrants during the course of their duties.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement responded to MCSO’s sweep.

Suzanne Bar, ICE official said, “As of today, Sheriff Arpaio’s authority to conduct immigration enforcement actions on the streets of Maricopa County no longer derives from any federal authority. MCSO’s authority to conduct “crime suppression operations” comes directly from Arizona state law. ICE had no engagement in today’s operations outside of their standard procedure of responding to a local law enforcement agency’s request for assistance. Pursuant to federal law, ICE’s Law Enforcement Agency Response teams (LEAR) respond to requests and determine whether to take custody of an individual on a case by case basis. The Department of Justice 's Civil Rights Division has an ongoing investigation into the Maricopa County Sherriff's office and we would refer questions about that investigation to them.”

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