http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555 GO GO GO JOE......SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO FOR PRESIDENT....... By JACQUES BILLEAUD &ndash; 20 hours ago GUADALUPE, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; The self-proclaimed &quot;toughest sheriff in America&quot; has been making forays into Phoenix and nearby Guadalupe and sweeping up illegal immigrants, drawing howls of protest from the cities' mayors and other community leaders. While Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has legal authority to enforce the law in cities within his county, politicians and activists are accusing him of grandstanding and, worse, racial profiling. A total of 150 people &mdash; 73 of them illegal immigrants &mdash; were arrested by Arpaio's deputies in the raids on heavily Hispanic sections in late March and early April. &quot;I was upset. We did not request them here,&quot; said Guadalupe Mayor Rebecca Jimenez, who charged that the patrols were meant to raise Arpaio's profile for his re-election campaign this year. Guadalupe, a community of about 6,000 people that relies on the sheriff's office for police protection, is taking steps to find another department to patrol its streets. As for Phoenix, Mayor Phil Gordon said Arpaio should be concentrating on more pressing duties such as finding people with warrants against them, and he has asked for a federal civil rights investigation, complaining the sheriff is singling out people who are &quot;driving with a broken taillight or have brown skin.&quot; The U.S. Justice Department refused to comment. And in Mesa, Arizona's third-largest city, the police chief has requested two days' notice of any sweeps Arpaio might conduct there, so that his officers can be prepared for any unrest. Arpaio has long had a reputation for in-your-face tactics. He is known for making jail inmates wear pink underwear, assigning them to old-style chain gangs, and serving them green bologna sandwiches. He began pushing the boundaries on immigration three years ago when he set up a special unit to deal with people sneaking across the border. Since then, his office has arrested 900 illegal immigrants under a state human smuggling law and set up a hot line for reporting immigration violations. Arpaio said the recent sweeps were prompted in part by business owners' complaints about crime among illegal immigrants. &quot;It isn't racial profiling,&quot; the sheriff said. &quot;We don't arrest just anybody on a street corner.&quot; He said the 150 people arrested were approached or pulled over in traffic stops because deputies had probable cause to believe they had committed crimes. It was only afterward that deputies found nearly half were illegal immigrants, the sheriff said. The crackdowns have led to demonstrations by protesters on both sides of the immigration debate. Opponents lined streets in Guadalupe earlier this month, honking horns and holding up signs with slogans such as &quot;Arpaio Stop Using Guadalupe!&quot; One vehicle had &quot;Proud to Be Brown&quot; written on one of its windows. Alex Rivera, an American-born landscaper living in Guadalupe, said that during the crackdown there, he saw a Hispanic driver get pulled over twice by deputies. &quot;It made me angry,&quot; Rivera said. &quot;If they let him go once, it gives you the point that he didn't do anything or he didn't have anything. So they let him go once. And then they pulled him over? Of course, the guy looked totally Hispanic.&quot; Civil rights advocates said Arpaio is spreading fear among Hispanics, illegal or not. &quot;You have cooks, landscapers, nannies afraid to drive,&quot; said Hector Yturralde, president of the group Somos America. Still, many others in Arizona are frustrated over the flow of illegal immigrants across the border, and the sheriff has received hundreds of letters of support, along with a request from a group of state lawmakers to go into Mesa. (Arpaio said he is planning a sweep in Mesa but is reluctant to warn the police department there for fear the chief will tip off the community and stir up demonstrations.) Judith Bederka, a retired postal worker from Mesa, said Arpaio is the only local official doing something about illegal immigration. &quot;He is doing what everybody wants him to do,&quot; Bederka said. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said the sheriff has stayed within the bounds of an agreement that gave special immigration training and powers to 160 of his officers. The agency said it knows of no abuses by Arpaio's office. Weeks after the crackdown, 20 Spanish-speaking day laborers gathered at a dusty intersection to wait for people to offer them work. Ramon Arajon Contreras, a laborer from Mexico who has lived in Guadalupe for eight years, said the sweep frightened him so much that he hid out in his house until it was over. He said he is still afraid. &quot;If I see immigration officers,&quot; he said, &quot;it's like I see the devil.&quot; On the Net: Maricopa County sheriff: http://www.mcso.org&amp;usg...&gt;http://www.mcso.org &nbsp; Leave Comment Subscribe to comments Posted in these Groups: &nbsp; GO GO GO JOE......SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO FOR PRESIDENT....... By JACQUES BILLEAUD &ndash; 20 hours ago GUADALUPE, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; The self-proclaimed &quot;toughest sheriff in America&quot; has been making forays into Phoenix and nearby Guadalupe and sweeping up illegal immigrants, drawing howls of protest from the cities' mayors and other community leaders. While Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has legal authority to enforce the law in cities within his county, politicians and activists are accusing him of grandstanding and, worse, racial profiling. A total of 150 people &mdash; 73 of them illegal immigrants &mdash; were arrested by Arpaio's deputies in the raids on heavily Hispanic sections in late March and early April. &quot;I was upset. We did not request them here,&quot; said Guadalupe Mayor Rebecca Jimenez, who charged that the patrols were meant to raise Arpaio's profile for his re-election campaign this year. Guadalupe, a community of about 6,000 people that relies on the sheriff's office for police protection, is taking steps to find another department to patrol its streets. As for Phoenix, Mayor Phil Gordon said Arpaio should be concentrating on more pressing duties such as finding people with warrants against them, and he has asked for a federal civil rights investigation, complaining the sheriff is singling out people who are &quot;driving with a broken taillight or have brown skin.&quot; The U.S. Justice Department refused to comment. And in Mesa, Arizona's third-largest city, the police chief has requested two days' notice of any sweeps Arpaio might conduct there, so that his officers can be prepared for any unrest. Arpaio has long had a reputation for in-your-face tactics. He is known for making jail inmates wear pink underwear, assigning them to old-style chain gangs, and serving them green bologna sandwiches. He began pushing the boundaries on immigration three years ago when he set up a special unit to deal with people sneaking across the border. Since then, his office has arrested 900 illegal immigrants under a state human smuggling law and set up a hot line for reporting immigration violations. Arpaio said the recent sweeps were prompted in part by business owners' complaints about crime among illegal immigrants. &quot;It isn't racial profiling,&quot; the sheriff said. &quot;We don't arrest just anybody on a street corner.&quot; He said the 150 people arrested were approached or pulled over in traffic stops because deputies had probable cause to believe they had committed crimes. It was only afterward that deputies found nearly half were illegal immigrants, the sheriff said. The crackdowns have led to demonstrations by protesters on both sides of the immigration debate. Opponents lined streets in Guadalupe earlier this month, honking horns and holding up signs with slogans such as &quot;Arpaio Stop Using Guadalupe!&quot; One vehicle had &quot;Proud to Be Brown&quot; written on one of its windows. Alex Rivera, an American-born landscaper living in Guadalupe, said that during the crackdown there, he saw a Hispanic driver get pulled over twice by deputies. &quot;It made me angry,&quot; Rivera said. &quot;If they let him go once, it gives you the point that he didn't do anything or he didn't have anything. So they let him go once. And then they pulled him over? Of course, the guy looked totally Hispanic.&quot; Civil rights advocates said Arpaio is spreading fear among Hispanics, illegal or not. &quot;You have cooks, landscapers, nannies afraid to drive,&quot; said Hector Yturralde, president of the group Somos America. Still, many others in Arizona are frustrated over the flow of illegal immigrants across the border, and the sheriff has received hundreds of letters of support, along with a request from a group of state lawmakers to go into Mesa. (Arpaio said he is planning a sweep in Mesa but is reluctant to warn the police department there for fear the chief will tip off the community and stir up demonstrations.) Judith Bederka, a retired postal worker from Mesa, said Arpaio is the only local official doing something about illegal immigration. &quot;He is doing what everybody wants him to do,&quot; Bederka said. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said the sheriff has stayed within the bounds of an agreement that gave special immigration training and powers to 160 of his officers. The agency said it knows of no abuses by Arpaio's office. Weeks after the crackdown, 20 Spanish-speaking day laborers gathered at a dusty intersection to wait for people to offer them work. Ramon Arajon Contreras, a laborer from Mexico who has lived in Guadalupe for eight years, said the sweep frightened him so much that he hid out in his house until it was over. He said he is still afraid. &quot;If I see immigration officers,&quot; he said, &quot;it's like I see the devil.&quot; On the Net: Maricopa County sheriff: http://www.mcso.org&amp;usg...&gt;http://www.mcso.org &nbsp; Leave Comment Subscribe to comments Posted in these Groups: &nbsp; en-us <p>Those who aid and abet illegals are all upset about this. Why? Because it's working!</p> <p><i>Ramon Arajon Contreras, a laborer from Mexico...</i></p> <p>NO! Who woulda thunk...?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229734 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229734 <p>Those who aid and abet illegals are all upset about this. Why? Because it's working!</p> <p><i>Ramon Arajon Contreras, a laborer from Mexico...</i></p> <p>NO! Who woulda thunk...?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Why them &quot;nigras&quot; got all upset over the noble KKK I'll *NEVER* understand...</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229736 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229736 <p>Why them &quot;nigras&quot; got all upset over the noble KKK I'll *NEVER* understand...</p> <p>Why is he afaid???????????? Because he is illegal!!!!!!!!</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229741 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229741 <p>Why is he afaid???????????? Because he is illegal!!!!!!!!</p> <p><span style="font-size: small">Too bad OUR sheriff can't enforce OUR laws in the same manner. At least they are starting to address the situation with truants - juvie or bust!!! Hell in the '60's we didn't dare cut classes! those that did were picked up within the first hour of classes!&nbsp; When South High let me know my daughter was always late for her first period class (we live 1/2 a block from the school!) I spent a week literally walking her to her classroom! She was so embarrassed she made it on time after that!</span></p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229777 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229777 <p><span style="font-size: small">Too bad OUR sheriff can't enforce OUR laws in the same manner. At least they are starting to address the situation with truants - juvie or bust!!! Hell in the '60's we didn't dare cut classes! those that did were picked up within the first hour of classes!&nbsp; When South High let me know my daughter was always late for her first period class (we live 1/2 a block from the school!) I spent a week literally walking her to her classroom! She was so embarrassed she made it on time after that!</span></p> <p>I hear you......it would be sweet if they did enforce the laws here....if they don't, then we have a choice come election time...like any other job..talk is cheap--actions speak for themselves...he was 'hired'...he can be fired....</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229780 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229780 <p>I hear you......it would be sweet if they did enforce the laws here....if they don't, then we have a choice come election time...like any other job..talk is cheap--actions speak for themselves...he was 'hired'...he can be fired....</p> <p>We can dream but the media including TBC columnists for the most part would be encouraging the so-called "liberal" mantras of "Nazi, Racist, KKK," <i>etc</i>. <i>ad nauseam</i> to any politician that voiced their support of enforcing immigration laws.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229784 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229784 <p>We can dream but the media including TBC columnists for the most part would be encouraging the so-called "liberal" mantras of "Nazi, Racist, KKK," <i>etc</i>. <i>ad nauseam</i> to any politician that voiced their support of enforcing immigration laws.</p> <p>I can envision a tent city in the desert INSTEAD of spending millions to building a new jail facility...communications with the courts via cctv....chain gangs...this would be the deterant of breaking the law...and now terrorists from L.A. are coming up here to hunt....sounds like a new sequal to the Escape from New York..Escape from L.A....Escape from Kern County sounds good..stop baby-ing these thugs and dish out some real punishment.....</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229788 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229788 <p>I can envision a tent city in the desert INSTEAD of spending millions to building a new jail facility...communications with the courts via cctv....chain gangs...this would be the deterant of breaking the law...and now terrorists from L.A. are coming up here to hunt....sounds like a new sequal to the Escape from New York..Escape from L.A....Escape from Kern County sounds good..stop baby-ing these thugs and dish out some real punishment.....</p> <p>Go Joe! We need more sheriffs like Joe Arpaio!</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229919 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_229919 <p>Go Joe! We need more sheriffs like Joe Arpaio!</p> <p>Three cheers for Sheriff Joe!&nbsp; Way to go!</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230031 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230031 <p>Three cheers for Sheriff Joe!&nbsp; Way to go!</p> Unfortunately, with Title 15 et al in The Peoples Republic of CA, Sheriff Joe couldnt be Sheriff Joe! http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230089 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230089 Unfortunately, with Title 15 et al in The Peoples Republic of CA, Sheriff Joe couldnt be Sheriff Joe! <p>Right Chico! It would not work anywhere on the &quot;left&quot; Coast.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230358 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230358 <p>Right Chico! It would not work anywhere on the &quot;left&quot; Coast.</p> <p>true!</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230359 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230359 <p>true!</p> <p>I think a lot of us would love to have a true blue Sheriff Joe at least trying to enforce the Federal laws on illegal aliens but the People's Republic of CA would enjoin him from doing so as it is ruled by a cadre of unrealistic socialistic Democrats who only care about feathering their own nest and getting re-elected by fellow unrealistic Democrat constituents inhabiting The People's Republic of CA. We better just get used to it I guess!</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230387 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230387 <p>I think a lot of us would love to have a true blue Sheriff Joe at least trying to enforce the Federal laws on illegal aliens but the People's Republic of CA would enjoin him from doing so as it is ruled by a cadre of unrealistic socialistic Democrats who only care about feathering their own nest and getting re-elected by fellow unrealistic Democrat constituents inhabiting The People's Republic of CA. We better just get used to it I guess!</p> <p>Oh come on Chico you know as well as I do the real reason that the federal immigration laws aren't being enforced is because Your Presidenta Gorge Busho and his super rich Republicans want the El cheapo and controllable slave labor......</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230389 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230389 <p>Oh come on Chico you know as well as I do the real reason that the federal immigration laws aren't being enforced is because Your Presidenta Gorge Busho and his super rich Republicans want the El cheapo and controllable slave labor......</p> <p>My Bush?</p> <p>That was quite possibly the dumbest thing you have ever typed!</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230396 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230396 <p>My Bush?</p> <p>That was quite possibly the dumbest thing you have ever typed!</p> <p>What was the excuse for not enforcing the immigration laws during the Clinton years?</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230406 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230406 <p>What was the excuse for not enforcing the immigration laws during the Clinton years?</p> <p>Nancy, it is so easy to just trash Bush, why should they strain their brain?</p> <p>Watch what happens when Obama is POTUS</p> <p>It will be crickets on the issue from the Left, and people like Gube will just replace Bush with Obama.</p> <p>People like me will continue to fight at the point of the spear by paying by check, cutting 1099's, etc. and the Left will shut up (or find some way to still blame Bush) and the Gubes will talk about the Joe Arpaio's who won't work in CA and not attack the real problem (because then the Lib Dem Lefties in CA will be on him on this board like a cheap suit)</p> <p>There will be no real solution until businessmen and housewives, etc. stop hiring them and the left quits worrying about purported xenophobia!</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230414 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230414 <p>Nancy, it is so easy to just trash Bush, why should they strain their brain?</p> <p>Watch what happens when Obama is POTUS</p> <p>It will be crickets on the issue from the Left, and people like Gube will just replace Bush with Obama.</p> <p>People like me will continue to fight at the point of the spear by paying by check, cutting 1099's, etc. and the Left will shut up (or find some way to still blame Bush) and the Gubes will talk about the Joe Arpaio's who won't work in CA and not attack the real problem (because then the Lib Dem Lefties in CA will be on him on this board like a cheap suit)</p> <p>There will be no real solution until businessmen and housewives, etc. stop hiring them and the left quits worrying about purported xenophobia!</p> <p>The immigration laws has been on the books for YEARS....why are we yelling &quot; FIRE &quot; now....there's a whole lot of reasons why...good luck trying to plug this leak in the dam that's going to burst....our government dropped the ball on this issue years ago, and now we are paying the price.....I'm just going to sit back and not worry about things that I have no control over.....</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230430 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/gube/25555/#c_230430 <p>The immigration laws has been on the books for YEARS....why are we yelling &quot; FIRE &quot; now....there's a whole lot of reasons why...good luck trying to plug this leak in the dam that's going to burst....our government dropped the ball on this issue years ago, and now we are paying the price.....I'm just going to sit back and not worry about things that I have no control over.....</p>