Ariz. sheriff puts illegal-alien inmates in tents

originalgabe · 02-04-2009, 11:04 PM

Quote:

PHOENIX (AP) — The self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff in America" has announced plans to keep illegal immigrants separate from the rest of the inmate population at tents in Phoenix that house prisoners.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio accompanied about 200 inmates — along with members of the media — from an area jail to Tent City on Wednesday.

"This is a population of criminals more adept perhaps at escape," Arpaio said in a news release. "But this is a fence they won't want to scale because they risk receiving quite a shock, literally," he said, referring to the electric fence that surrounds the area.

Arpaio said housing the illegal immigrants separately would save money, although he did not explain how other than to say it's cheaper to house inmates in tents than at traditional jails.

He said his office has received $1.6 million funding from the state that will go toward tackling illegal immigration.

"I expect more arrests," Arpaio said. "I expect to put more tents up."

Arpaio said the move will be more convenient for consulate officials visiting foreign inmates and for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents charged with deporting the inmates after they have served sentences in county jails.

Aside from their residency status, he said the inmates will be treated just like everyone else housed in the tents.

A spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to comment.

Arpaio's announcement has appalled some officials in the area.

Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox said she thinks Arpaio could potentially be violating the immigrants' rights by keeping them separated, and that she'd like to talk to the Justice Department and have staff there issue an opinion.

"Any time you treat people differently for no reason, you stand to violate rights," she said. "We treat people equally in America. I think it's wrong."

She said the move is a publicity stunt and that Arpaio has done nothing to show the supervisors how it would save money.

Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona, said although Wednesday's move wasn't unconstitutional, it was degrading and unnecessary to shepherd prisoners in front of media.

"You're sort of giving the message that it's OK to treat these inmates differently. It's OK to treat them like circus animals," Soler Meetze said. "He didn't have to make a spectacle. He could've moved them on buses."

She said her organization would look for any constitutional concerns in the future treatment of the segregated inmates.

The Tent City is part of a tough atmosphere that made Arpaio nationally famous. His jails also feature chain gangs and pink underwear for male inmates. Arpaio was recently featured in a Fox Reality Channel show called "Smile ... You're Under Arrest!

Jesus! I mean seriously. Fucking concentration Camps!!! WHY IS THIS GUY NOT IN JAIL!!!!!

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...bYBWAD9652N400

meehx3 · 02-04-2009, 11:27 PM

well well well. i see we went to the old way of life. thats what they did to the japanese in WWII so i'm not surprised that they did it again. its pitiful how ignorant people can be. later they'd admit what they did was wrong and expect us to forgive and forget.

pitiful.

VaeVictis · 02-04-2009, 11:54 PM

aaahhhhhhhhh it's Arizona.... Bid Bad Joe alone made me root for Pittsburgh.

Seriously, I know it's wrong to paint with such a broad brush, but come on! Why should undocumented immigrants be treated differently? Because they're "invaders"? Legally, there's no reason to put them, ALL of them, in his Tent City. ICE and foreign consulate officers seem to be able to locate the undocumented in a prison population just fine in every other jurisdiction.

dreamerhippie · 09:23 PM

Erase / Rewind

Dreamer X · 02-05-2009, 03:23 AM

this is some scary stuff

VJB2 · 02-05-2009, 03:54 AM

Wow, insane.

Dreamer X · 02-05-2009, 04:54 AM

people are going to look at this 50 years from now and be disgusted.

DaLastHope · 02-05-2009, 11:53 AM

new age segregation.. just sad.

DreamBaybeh · 02-05-2009, 01:23 PM

The whole thing makes me think of concentration camps in Nazi Germany

Nick · 02-05-2009, 01:23 PM

Look the fence can work! We just round up the cattle, give out little yellow stars that say "I'm illegal." and put them in special tents! Lets face it, we all know that these people are sneaky and can easily escape a regular American prison in no time. Brilliant!

I bet with a sheriff like that half of those people shouldn't be in jail in the first place.

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

They need you!

Forum links

Resources

Join our list

National calendar of events

July

Ariz. sheriff puts illegal-alien inmates in tents