Obama's war on Sheriff Joe Arpaio

You may have heard of Maricopa County, AZ Sheriff Joe Arpaio who has been a one man border enforcement machine - doing the job the feds refuse to do.

Well, Joe got himself in a spot of trouble with Obama administration immigration enforcement officials at Homeland Security by rounding up 13 illegal immigrants and trying to deliver them to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement

(ICE) agency.

One would think that ICE would be grateful to Sheriff Joe for doing their work for them. Not according to this editorial in the Washington Times. It seems that in the end, Joe was forced to let the illegals go - and ICE lied about the reason why:

Sheriff Arpaio blamed ICE. However, Matthew Chandler, Washington-based spokesman for the federal Department of Homeland Security

(ICE's parent agency), issued a statement saying that "the determination to release these individuals lies solely within the [sheriff's office].... [On July 23], ICE gave the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office permission to interview the three individuals in question, arrest, and initiate removal proceedings -- instead Sheriff Arpaio released them." Homeland Security's story doesn't pan out. The sheriff's deputies taped the calls to ICE. The recordings show that ICE repeatedly refused permission to take custody of the illegals.

"Right now we cannot authorize you to take her into custody," an ICE official said to one deputy about a woman who had admitted to being illegal. On another call, ICE said: "The only way we can [authorize detainment] is if he has a criminal record." A frustrated deputy replied, "We're just gonna kick him loose then." ICE said: "OK."

The obvious misinformation from the administration might be dismissed ordinarily as a spokesman's one-time goof except that it follows a pattern of misbehavior by Obama appointees that seems intended to undercut the controversial sheriff. On May 29, Arpaio attorney Robert N. Driscoll, former chief of staff at the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, sent a complaint letter to both Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano

. His letter, amply documented, accuses the two federal departments of "a serious violation of ethical standards of conduct" with regard to three federal "investigations" into Sheriff Arpaio's practices.

Within weeks of Obama taking office, three separate federal investigations were begun by the feds looking into Sheriff Joe's administration. And now we have Homeland Security lying through its teeth and trying to blame him for them not doing their job?

Not much politicizing going on in law enforcement, huh?

"there is still so much misunderstanding"

I don't know if I understand, but I thought:

Illegal entry was a misdemeanor punishable by fines, jail, and deportation, while illegal re-entry is a felony punishable by fines, jail, and deportation, while illegal presence was a civil violation punishable by fines, jail, and deportation.

Keep in mind that these are federal laws and have nothing to do with the county sheriff

But, Maricopa County, AZ has a law unique to the state and the nation.

The County Attorney, Andrew Thomas, interpreted a state law making human smuggling a felony to include any illegal who paid a smuggler(coyote) to bring him in. Under this interpretation, the illegal, by paying the smuggler, had entered into a conspiracy with the smuggler and had committed a felony.

When Sheriff Joe arrests an illegal on this charge, the county attorney usually pleads the illegal down to a misdemeanor and time served. Occasionally he will charge an illegal with the felony but gives him unsupervised release with an order to appear, but of course he doesn't.

Ice is not going to take these conspiracy felons.

Most loal police chiefs in Major cities will tell you the Fed Gov will not do their job. ICE even refuses to run the names submitted through their databases.A large merto area is damn if they do or damned if they do not participate in ICE training. One, it takes cops off the street to fight violent crime. Two, even if the cops arest them, ICE will not check them and often refuses to do anything. Add the sactuary cities. Next, even illegals in prison who are reported to ICE are often never checked in ICE’s database.

ICE is a damn joke IMHO.

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