DaytonCIM's Journal: Hi. I'm a fucking idiot.

Yes. I'm a fucking idiot.

Arizona Posse to Arrest Illegal Immigrants
By Amanda Lee Myers, Associated Press Writer

Phoenix - A posse of 100 volunteers and sheriff's deputies will patrol the Phoenix area and arrest any illegal immigrants, the county sheriff said.

The group likely will be deployed across parts of Maricopa County by the weekend, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Wednesday.

Volunteers will be drawn from the department's 3,000-member posse, whose members are trained and are often former deputies.

"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," said Arpaio, who in years past gained notoriety for putting inmates on chain gangs and issuing them striped uniforms and pink underwear.

Arpaio's deputies have already arrested about 120 illegal immigrants using a new state smuggling law.

"We're going to arrest any illegal who violates this new law," he said. "I'm not going to turn these people over to federal authorities so they can have a free ride back to Mexico. I'll give them a free ride into the county jail."

Under the law -- as interpreted by the Maricopa County attorney -- illegal immigrants can be arrested and prosecuted for conspiracy to smuggle themselves into the country. The law's authors have said they intended it to be used to prosecute smugglers, not the immigrants being smuggled.

Lawyers for nearly 50 undocumented immigrants charged with conspiracy to commit human smuggling have filed motions to have the charges dismissed.

A Los Angeles attorney brought into the case last week by the Mexican Consul General's Office in Phoenix plans to file another motion claiming Maricopa County Attorney officials are violating state and federal law because it's the federal government's job to control illegal immigration.

Both motions are to be argued in county court on May 23.

Not really.

[artifex2004]

He's playing to his constituency, right?
It's the people who keep voting him in that you should rail against.
If the county attorney gets elected, too, that's just more proof.

It's an interesting application of the law

[Marxist Hacker 42]

But damned hard to prove- seems a valid defense would be "I wasn't the smuggler, I paid a coyote to do it for me". Of course, then to prove that defense you'd have to turn over the contact information of the coyotes- and I'm sure the Sheriff would have a great time tracking THEM down (they carry machine guns).

You have a strange definition of idiot

[TheConfusedOne]

Imagine, a legal officer upholding the law. My goodness. What will happen next?

What part of ILLEGAL immigrant is so hard to understand?

Re:You have a strange definition of idiot

[stoolpigeon]

well, i have to say that he is an idiot, though maybe not for the reasons declared here. he is an idiot because he lives for the limelight and press. he does a lot of things purely because they will get a reaction and put him into the national press.

when he first ran, i liked him. he seemed to be against the establishment and status quo. and what i really liked was that he promised that he would serve one term and be done. well, i have no idea how many terms he has served now. it has to be 4 o

Re:You have a strange definition of idiot

[linvir]

It's got fuck all to do with the illegality of the immigrants. He's applying the wrong law in order to circumvent the normal, correct procedure.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:You have a strange definition of idiot

[TheConfusedOne]

He may be being radical on coming up with a way to arrest these people but shouldn't he be simply able to arrest them for being in the country illegally?

It seems like they've come up with this approach to get around a serious gap in law and border enforcement.

(Would you consider it just as stupid for there to be regulations on the books in LA that prohibit police officers from enquiring about the nationality/residence status of suspected illegals?)

Re:You have a strange definition of idiot

[DaytonCIM]

My problem is with "bands of citizens" roaming the streets "arresting" people because of their skin colour - ala Latino. In addition, the state of Arizona allows for private citizens to openly carry firearms. THIS absolutely opens the door for someone to get shot... or killed.

I think this Sheriff is trying for headlines rather than actually doing his job; and in the process he's going to get people hurt.