08/14/09 In yesterday's Dallas Morning News, we found an unexpected ally in conservative writer Reuben Navarette, who added his voice to the chorus of groups and leaders demanding the federal government hold Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona accountable for his outrageous abuses of authority under the 287(g) program. Navarette's message and ours? Kick Arpaio Out!
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08/11/09 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently expanded 287(g), a law that gives local officials the authority to act as federal agents in the enforcement of immigration laws. 287(g) has a number of serious implications. One, it takes valuable resources away from law enforcement agencies that are trying to catch "real criminals" as opposed to hardworking immigrants and their family members, whose only crime is being in the country without proper legal status. By focusing attention on the legal status of innocent people and away from dangerous criminals, whole neighborhoods and communities are put at risk. Two, expanding 287(g) may create even greater room for abuse.
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07/16/09 Last week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced big changes to the government program that turns local cops into immigration agents (the "287g" program). The changes are a start, but they haven't stopped Sheriff Joe Arpaio's dangerous and racist antics in Maricopa County, Arizona. Last Spring 40,000 Americans like you spoke out against the Sheriff's tactics. The House Judiciary Committee called for strict review, and the Department of Justice announced it would carry out a federal investigation!
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07/07/09 We've been tracking the injustices of Sheriff Joe Arpaio for some time now. Here's the latest, from blogger Erin Rosa of Gabacha.com: "Joe Arpaio, the Arizona sheriff who has made a career out of targeting undocumented immigrants and using dehumanizing tactics on jail inmates, has now achieved another accomplishment. The majority of inmates locked up in his jails are Latino males."
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06/11/09 After a gunman with clear ties to white nationalism opened fire yesterday at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, a new video that ties Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio to his neo-Nazi supporters is gaining attention.
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04/21/09 A newspaper series exposing Sheriff Joe Arpaio's costly abuse of power in Arizona just won the Pulitzer prize: "Sheriff Joe Arapaio is a national disgrace. Among the Pulitzer prizes awarded today was one to Ryan Gabrielson and Paul Giblin of the East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Arizona) for its coverage of Arpaio's immigration enforcement policies."
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03/16/09 Lawrence Downes writes about a factory worker who rolled up his sleeves and wrote a traditional Mexican "corrido" about injustice: "Mr. Linares's subject, the Maricopa County sheriff, is infamous for abusing prisoners, strutting on TV and arresting Latinos on flimsy pretexts. To his victims he is a figure of fear and mockery, part Bull Connor, part Buford T. Justice from "Smokey and the Bandit." Citizens from across the country have stood strong in protest of Sheriff Arpaio's heinous tactics -- and their voices are being heard. Downes reports, "Last week the Justice Department told the sheriff he was being investigated over accusations of racial profiling, and Congress members denounced his "reign of terror."
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03/11/09 Check out Spanish-language coverage of today's call for an investigation of Arpaio, a full-length feature by Maribel Hastings. Legisladores, activistas y funcionarios aplaudieron la pesquisa en contra del Alguacil Joe Arpaio que conducirá el Departamento de Justicia, y el presidente del Comité Judicial de la Cámara Baja, John Conyers (D-MI), anunció que cuatro paneles camerales conducirán audiencias conjuntas sobre los excesos del alguacil y sobre el empleo de perfiles raciales y otros abusos en los programas que permiten a jurisdicciones locales aplicar las leyes migratorias.
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03/11/09 Representative John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the US House Committee on the Judiciary, spoke first. Part of his speech was captured in the video below. He said we need to “end Arpaio’s reign of terror”and explained how grave the charges against Arpaio really are. He said they reflected a major civil rights crisis that needs to be addressed immediately. Rep. Nadler, Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties gave an impassioned speech that rallied the crowd, part of which we caught on tape. Check it out.
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03/11/09 Last Night Sheriff Joe Arpaio finally got what he's been asking for: an investigation by the Department of Justice. Today Representative Conyers and other members of the House Judiciary Committee join civil rights leaders to endorse a major petition delivery, listen to testimony, and call for an end to the Sheriff's questionable tactics. Over 35,000 petition signatures have been collected by a diverse array of social justice organizations, alongside America's Voice.
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02/26/09 In Sheriff Joe Arpaio's world, if you are an immigrant detainee, you should be marching in chains to segregated "Tent Cities" in the Arizona desert, surrounded by electric fencing. Well, together with the House Judiciary Committee and a wide range of civil and human rights organizations, we're shouting, "Not so fast!" Thousands of protesters will convene in Phoenix at the end of the week to rally for justice, and we are only 2,000 signatures away from 10,000 on our petition to the Department of Justice.
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01/08/09 On Wednesday we reported that Conan O'Brien would host America's Biggest Rights-Violator, Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Well, about a hundred people called in to complain about the Sheriff's record, filling up NBC's late night voicemail box before the audience had time to find their seats. Indeed, self-proclaimed "America's Toughest Sheriff" Conan on the Fox show: "It's either a brilliant idea or the true sign of the apocalypse, that things are coming apart in this country." Fight the Apocalypse here.
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12/26/08 Arpaio's critics aren't amused. They say they fear the show will give the controversial sheriff positive publicity, ignoring what they call a darker side to his 16-year tenure as top lawman in the county that includes Phoenix. "It's going to celebrate a sheriff that's frankly scaring this community, a sheriff that has seen violent crime increase significantly in his county, a sheriff that is racially profiling the Latino community, and I doubt that the show is going to reflect that," said Paco Fabian, spokesman for the immigrant-rights group America's Voice.
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12/16/08 The FOX network is giving a giant megaphone to a public official known for his anti-immigrant antics and racial profiling. "Smile! You're Under Arrest" will celebrate the slimy depths Sheriff Joe has been willing to sink to in Maricopa County, Arizona. Well, today we're launching a new video asking that Joe get the attention he really deserves- an investigation by the Department of Justice.
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12/02/08 It's official. Self-proclaimed "America's Toughest Sheriff" Arpaio has finally made good on the American Dream. That is to say, Joe's landed his own reality television show. The bad news? Fox's newest star has a history of promoting virulently anti-Latino policies that leave tough police-work behind in favor of blatant racial profiling. The good news? Apparently, the show is set to air on Saturdays at 5 pm. Pink underwear competition on prime time? Not so much.
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