A federal judge has issued an injunction against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his department, blocking his agecy from conducting immigration sweeps and using race, CNN reported. His practices have been controversial for residents in Arizona, and widely discussed on social media. A Facebook page, "People Against Sheriff Joe Arpaio" has over 119,000 "likes" while another page, "People in Support of Sheriff Joe Arpaio" has over 16,000.
The judge ruled that Arpaio's handling of people of Latino descent amounts to what is considered racial and ethnic profiling, and not the tough law enforcement of immigration laws his office proclaims. In the past, Arpaio reportedly required prison inmates to wear pink underwear, and also removed salt and pepper from prisons. This and other strange draconian practices got people concerned. Most relevant in the case was Arapaio's history of targeting vehicles with occupants with darker skin or of Latin heritage.
Arpaio's defense attorney Tim Casey said that he's "very disappointed by the outcome of the decision. The [Maricopa County Sheriff's Office] and the sheriff have never used race and will never use race in their decisions." His office has plans to appeal the court ruling.
Immigration rights advocates are elated about the verdict. "This is vindication. They've been stopping people based on the color of our skin, just because someone suspected we might be authorized to be in this country," activist Lydia Guzman said.
The MCSO will no longer be allowed to use race or Latino heritage to make any law enforcement decisions, including stopping vehicles, making detentions or holding suspects longer than necessary to resolve specific allegations.
Arizona has long been at the forefront of the immigration reform debate in the U.S., mainly for its close proximity to Mexico, and how to balance rights for people who are undocumented workers and those in favor of stronger border protection.
The U.S. Supreme Court in June 2012 struck down parts of Arizona's controversial immigration law, including provisions for law enforcement similar to those practiced by Arpaio, CNN also reported. Arpaio, who prior to becoming sheriff, headed thethe Drug Enforcement Agency's office.
In April, a postal inspector intercepted an explosive package that had been addressed to him; the parcel was mailed after the department received a death threat from a major drug cartel.
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