High-Profile Arizona Sheriff's Department Target of Federal Probe

reply to post by Swatman


This is the actual letter Sheriff Joe wrote:

March 10, 2009

Carlos Flores Vizcarra

Consul General of Mexico

1990 West Camelback, #110

Phoenix, AZ 85015

Dear Consul General Flores:

Your February 23, 2009 letter to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors lodged several complaints

about the treatment of inmates at Tent City. This came as a great surprise and even greater disappointment

to me. To add insult to injury, I learned of your letter through local media outlets and not through you

directly, as professional courtesy dictated.

Furthermore, your letter was penned only hours after you and I had just shared a cordial meal. During that breakfast, you never once outlined any major concerns you had with how I am handling the incarceration

of illegal aliens. This leads me to believe you had some hidden political motive for writing this complaint

letter and that you are simply echoing the false allegations routinely made by critics of my illegal

immigration policies and programs.

In any case, let this letter serve to outline the facts:

a. We moved 200 inmates, all of whom are convicted on state charges, most of whom have holds

for other agencies, on February 4th. They were chained and walked from one jail to another, a

distance of about 400 yards. The road is inside the Durango Jail Complex and is used for

detention related matters. This is our common practice for moving inmates. We have made

several such inmate transfers over the years and with no public outcry. We do not conduct

secret inmate transfers. Why do you suggest these illegal alien inmates require special

treatment? They do not. I also have an open door policy with the media. They are notified

about changes in policy or notable events which take place in the Sheriff’s Office. However, it

is up to the media to decide whether to cover such events.

b. It is not my practice to consult with foreign governments about my jail policies. Still, we did

have you in mind when we decided to house these inmates separately. Our hope was to make

visitation by your agency’s staff a little easier. We also believed it would help immigration

authorities (ICE) to have one central location to come to when they routinely pick up these

inmates after their sentences are completed. We believe both objectives were met by this

change. Your letter refers to this decision as "a sham and clearly disingenuous." How

unfortunate that you feel that way given we had your best interest in mind.

c. Contrary to your letter’s assertions, your staff has not been restricted from visiting Tent City

nor have any of them expressed concerns to our staff members. From February 5th to March

5th, your staff has made several visits to Tent City. Each time my Captain asked if there were

any issues or concerns that required attention. Each time he was told no. If your own

employees have not complained, why are you?

I assure you that the inmates being held in Tent City are treated fairly and humanely. This is something

that the country of Mexico surely cannot claim. As the former regional director of the U.S. Drug

Enforcement Administration (DEA), stationed in Mexico, I know only too well how prisoners, both

Mexican citizens and foreigners, are treated while confined in that country’s prisons.

Consul General Flores, I am placing you on notice of other immediate changes. We will seek full

reimbursement from the Mexican government for every Mexican citizen determined to be in this county

illegally who is incarcerated in Maricopa County jails. On average, there are 2000 illegal immigrants from

Mexico housed here at any given time for various crimes from violating drunken driving laws and drug

possession to kidnapping and murder.

As you must know, the State of Arizona is facing unprecedented financial woes. I am forced to look for

ways to lessen the burden on citizen taxpayers. You must certainly agree, it is unfair to ask hard working

Americans to continue to pay for housing, feeding and medically tending to your country’s criminals. I do

hope you and your government colleagues will understand my position.

Secondly, your staff has long enjoyed a "most favored nation" status in my jails which allowed them 24

hour access to incarcerated Mexican national inmates. This practice will now be suspended and your

employees will be treated like any other governmental entity visiting their jailed citizenry.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. Arpaio

Sheriff, Maricopa County

How dare someone actually enforce immigration law.

Of course he'll be investigated.

This is contrary to the Federal Governments unwritten mandate to allow illegal immigration.

This is just outrageous.

Sherrif Joe is awesome.

He treats inmates how they should be treated. He is enforcing the laws. Since he started cracking down on illegals, crime rates have dropped significantly here even though the economy has gotten worse.

Local liberal leaders have cut his funding and the media is all over his ass.

I live here. Illegals commit numerous crimes, they costs us our tax dollars, they jam up the emergency rooms, they paint graffiti all over the place and make neighborhoods look like crap. They cost us extra money in things like car insurance due to all the car thefts.

Liberals, what the heck is wrong with you?

reply to post by solarstorm


The "silent majority" is no longer a majority - probably hasn't been in a decade - maybe you haven't been looking around lately.

This guy is a grandstanding publicity hound, it comes as no surprise that he's been running things like a stereotypical fat crooked Southern sheriff.

Originally posted by xmotex
reply to post by solarstorm

 

The "silent majority" is no longer a majority - probably hasn't been in a decade - maybe you haven't been looking around lately.

This guy is a grandstanding publicity hound, it comes as no surprise that he's been running things like a stereotypical fat crooked Southern sheriff.

you fail to see that he isnt crooked.

i say just keep prosecuting the (very few) true patriots defending our borders and let the people who allow this perversion of law to wallow in the illegal slums they created for themselves.
you dont want the border laws enforced? fine, we'll move you down there to hang out, dont forget your english-spanish handbook.

why is is that when anyone stands up for border enforcement, (minutemen, sheriff Joe, Ignacio Ramos, Jose Compean, Richard Barnett etc.) they get thrown under the bus?
i hope they get exactly what they want, and i'll spit in their face when they complain about what they created and ask for help, we tried.

you fail to see that he isnt crooked.

Given the apparent size of his ego, I would be shocked if he isn't crooked as hell.

People with massive egos are almost never real big on ethics.

Doubly so when they're in a position of authority.

Plus, if he was a straight shooter, I doubt he'd be the subject of a federal investigation...

Originally posted by xmotex
reply to post by solarstorm

 

The "silent majority" is no longer a majority - probably hasn't been in a decade - maybe you haven't been looking around lately.

This guy is a grandstanding publicity hound, it comes as no surprise that he's been running things like a stereotypical fat crooked Southern sheriff.

The man is enforcing the LAW...there is no gray area in immigration. It's black and white. I guess common sense baffles some.

Originally posted by theindependentjournal


Those are called " CONSENT SEARCHES " and are perfectly legal. Tell the cop NO you can NOT search my vehicle without a warrant and guess what???? They can not search it. The problem is not the police, they make their budgets larger off the morons who willingly give up their Rights and most do it, just watch COPS on TV and see.

This problem arose in St. Cloud Minnesota my childhood hometown when a bunch of asian and sudanese immigrants arrived and were allowing searches because they didn't understand they had the RIGHT to say no to the search. They fixed that problem in St. Cloud by a new rule. Everyone must be given a card that says in several languages that they do not have to consent to a search and that a non consent could not be retaliated against by the officers. The newest report on this rule says that consent searches dropped over 90% when people were told that they could tell a cop NO to a vehicle search.

Morons don't know their Rights, give them up freely and then whine about their Rights being broken, I don't want to hear it quite frankly.

TELL THEM NO and ask if you are FREE TO GO? If they do not let you go it becomes an arrest and an arrest without cause is a nono for cops and they don't do it unless the City wants to pay out millions for false imprisonment. A guy here in Colorado just won 1 million settlement over this very issue of false arrest.

Link to ST. Cloud Police card they must hand out to all traffic stops

They are looking for MONEY to SEIZE not color of skin and every moron that says yes to a consent search, whether you have something to hide or not, HURTS ALL OF US...

WAKE UP AMERICA, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS, AND QUIT WHINING WHEN YOU GIVE THEM UP.

The only time I know a cop can search a vehicle is certain states like California where they can inspect for plants and such to protect from pests like tse-tse flies from coming into their state. Also any vehicle for HIRE can be stopped by DOT and fall under it's jurisdiction. Any private movement in a private vehicle IS NOT a consent to search...

These were not " CONSENT SEARCHES " they use a drug dog and if it gives a positive response they are allowed to search without a warrent.
Many rental trucks have been used sometime in there history for transporting drugs.

The biggest complaint is that the cops after doing there search just leave and leave the people with everything they have piled alongside the highway.

some of these people have been disabled or elderly.

Many of the motor homes have had everything taken out of every cabinet and cupboard thrown on the floor and walked on by the cops and then the cops just leave it that way and leave without even a apology.

In many cases the cops are just looking for any one carrying what they call large sums of money so they can claim its drug money and take everything.
Many people that are traveling carry larger amounts of cash to fuel there motor homes and many people moving across country close out there bank account and take there money with them when moving across country.
this is what the cops are looking for.

it is not only Sheriff Joe there are other departments around the US that do the same thing.
this is one reason Sheriff Joe goes after illegals because they can not open bank accounts so many have cash on them that the department can sieze.
plus anything else they own.
www.newser.com...
newhavenindependent.org...
www.reason.com...
www.isil.org...

[edit on 12-3-2009 by ANNED]

[edit on 12-3-2009 by ANNED]

reply to post by ANNED


I would like you to post a link to a news story to your claim about furniture and what not being left on the side of the highway. Your first post you claimed that you heard about it. If you heard about it then it was either from a news source or it was second hand info.

I was stationed at FT Huachuca AZ and my first wife had parents in Stockton CA and I had my family in OK. I drove all over I 10, I 40 and from LA up to San Francisco many, many, many times and I have not seen anything you claim one time. I have never heard of it in local newspapers or news channels.

Your second post goes into detail about consent not given. How do you know this? Like I said before, you can thank the drug runners for this inconveinance.

Also if they do stop one of these trucks and they just so happen to have a drug dog with them and it gets a hit on one of these trucks then the cops better dang well search it. I don't care if Granny Clampet is driving.

reply to post by redhead57

Agreed! And the glee he feels in feeding the inmates green/rotten bologna = that's just plain sadistic. Joe is an attention wh*re as well...his ego is going to really cause him to mess up badly one of these days.

Originally posted by ChrisCrikey
reply to post by redhead57

 

Agreed! And the glee he feels in feeding the inmates green/rotten bologna = that's just plain sadistic. Joe is an attention wh*re as well...his ego is going to really cause him to mess up badly one of these days.

The bologna isn't rotten. From what I understand it is dyed to give it a rotten look so the criminals will think twice, when eating it, about breaking the law when they get out.

Originally posted by ChrisCrikey
reply to post by redhead57

 

Agreed! And the glee he feels in feeding the inmates green/rotten bologna = that's just plain sadistic. Joe is an attention wh*re as well...his ego is going to really cause him to mess up badly one of these days.

good. most of them dont deserve to even eat food or be alive.

Originally posted by jd140

The bologna isn't rotten. From what I understand it is dyed to give it a rotten look so the criminals will think twice, when eating it, about breaking the law when they get out.

Well if that's true it's still pretty sadistic as is making people do hard labor in 118F...cruel and unusual? I think the more press Sheriff Joe gets the more likely he is to go there.

One the big problems with the border patrol is that they recruit them from far away places, generally people who have no familiarity with the border, give them six weeks of training a big gun and a powerful ATV. They are known for drag racing on the state highways near where I live.

The other problem is they think Mexicans and people from the middle east look the same. They very rarely do....not to someone who knows Mexican Nationals as well as Mexican Americans. Easy to tell the difference in my opinion between someone from Guatemala and Mexican too...um the other problem is there are quite a few stories of them shaking down UDAs for every penny and possession they have - and some of them are carrying significant amounts of cashinto the USA, then busing them 200 or 300 miles away from where they were caught to small Mexican towns where they get stuck with no money whatsoever (after having been robbed by some of the really corrupt border patrol agents.) That puts a terrible burden on those small Mexican towns.

Believe it or not, I met a very wealthy UDA just trying to get into the States so she could visit a sick relative (a US citizen) in the hospital who was dying.
For some reason she could get a visa fast enough to do it legally. Did I report her? Did I give her a glass of water? Funny, I can't remember.

reply to post by ChrisCrikey


How is it sadistic? It is good food, nothing is wrong with it at all. If it makes them think next time before they act then it is the best food.

As far as the rest of your post. What does that have to do with this thread. You can't bust on the sherriff anymore so you want to start busting on the border patrol?


If so, start a new thread. I don't care to discuss it. If they get sent back to Mexico pennyless then so be it, they shouldn't have broken the law to begin with.