Maricopa County Sheriff Takes Stand Against Illegal Immigration

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, is a man with bold ideas. He will be deploying a group of 100 trained volunteers and deputies to arrest illegal aliens in his jurisdiction.

Sheriff Arpaio, who is well-known for putting prison inmates in pink underwear and striped jumpsuits, said, "It's important to send the message out to stay in Mexico and don't come roaming around here hoping you're going to get amnesty."

No surprise that the Mexican Consul General's office is participating in a lawsuit against Maricopa County, protesting that it's the U.S. federal government's job to enforce immigration law. Of course, as the Mexican Consul General knows well, the U.S. federal government isn't particularly interested in preventing illegal immigration or protecting the borders.

You've got to love someone like Sheriff Arpaio who dares to be so politically incorrect and enforces the law.

Update: The New York Times quotes the attorney for the Mexican consulate as saying: "This sheriff is not the director of homeland security, but that is how he is acting."

Well, somebody has to.

The Maricopa County Attorney has sent a letter to the State Department protesting Mexico's attempt to challenge Arizona law. That raises a very interesting issue right there. What kind of precedent would it set if another country were able to win a lawsuit preventing one of our states from enforcing its own laws? Wouldn't that mean that Arizona's citizens were, in effect, being governed not by their duly elected legislators, but by another country, via the judiciary? Worth thinking about.