Sheriff Joe's Latest Outrage: Electrified Holding Pens for Immigrants
On February 4th, 2009, Joe went on a rampage. He rounded up immigrant detainees and forced them to march, shackled, to a segregated "tent city" surrounded by electric fences in the Arizona desert. The Maricopa County office announced the project in a statement entitled, "Arpaio Orders Move of Hundreds of Illegal Aliens to Their Own Tent City."
America's Voice believes that Joe's latest publicity stunt crosses the line.
Apparently, so does the House Judiciary Committee. They’ve written a public letter to the Attorney General and head of the Department of Homeland Security calling for an investigation into Arpaio’s tactics.
We're joining with human and civil rights advocates across the country to get Arpaio investigated by the Department of Justice. Events to protest Joe are taking place across the country. If you've signed the petition already, please help spread the word.
For more information about how to organize events in your community, check out NDLON’s website.
For more information on Sheriff Joe Arpaio:
Immigration Policy Center: the high cost of the Sheriff's antics
Demand Justice- Sign the Petition
Should "America's Toughest Sheriff" get a free pass on his controversial tactics? Should he round up immigrants at traffic stops and force them to sleep in separate "Tent Cities" in the desert?
We think he should get investigated by the Department of Justice.
With over 2,700 lawsuits against him, a history of virulently anti-immigrant and anti-Latino tactics, and 40,000 felony warrants outstanding in his jurisdiction, Arpaio has fostered a climate in which real criminals roam free while hard-working immigrants live in fear. America's Voice is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to begin a federal investigation into his tactics, giving Sheriff Arpaio the attention he really deserves.
Demand an investigation from the Department of Justice:
|
Honorable Eric Holder We, the undersigned, respectfully request that you direct your office to investigate Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, for gross civil rights violations in the name of immigration enforcement. No official is above the law, and yet Sheriff Arpaio has engaged in racial profiling and civil rights abuses for years with impunity. The case against the publicity-hungry Sheriff is well documented and horrifying. Joe Arpaio has made a mockery of our justice system by:
Arpaio’s prisons have been stripped of their health standards accreditation, the Mayor of Phoenix and other law enforcement officials have denounced the Sheriff's tactics, the Governor of Arizona has pulled some of his key funding, and over 2,700 lawsuits have been filed against him. Meanwhile, crime has surged. The Sheriff's office has over 40,000 outstanding warrants for real felons that it simply hasn't had time to tackle. Mr. Attorney General, elected officials are subject to our nation's laws. Sheriffs should be held accountable for fighting crime, not rewarded for spreading fear. We request an immediate Department of Justice investigation into Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his appalling tactics. Sincerely, [Your Name Here] |