Sheriff Joe Arpaio Takes The Stand We Knew He Would -- Exhibiting More Balls Than Our Elected President

"I'm going to catch as many as I can and throw them in my jail," said Sheriff Joe Arpaio. "And the jails are not that nice."

Sheriff Joe Arpaio is right. His jails primarily suck. And that's on a good day. Check it out: when he ran out of brick and mortar buildings for inmates, he created tent cities in the Arizona desert. Allow me to consult my thermometer right now: oh yes; about 118 degrees in the shade. Perfect for inmates or boiling lobster tails.

Before I go further, to get a good sense of who he is, I refer you to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department website, some truths about Sheriff Joe, and what Wikipedia has to say about the good Sheriff.

People either love or hate Sheriff Joe. Many hate him. He has been sued. He has received numerous death threats. Still he has survived. Some say that he is the most recognized and revered politician in the entire state of Arizona. At age 74, not a bad testimony -- considering Arizona is rife with True Politicians as is any other given state. In my opinion Sheriff Joe is the last of a breed.

Hell, I should have made him a Today's Hero months ago.

Silly me.

Also: silly me for not checking Arpaio's influence on the illegal immigrant issue because Arizona is, of course, on the cutting edge of illegal immigration as it borders the Mexican state of Sonora and the Mexican cities of Nogales and Agua Prieta.

From the Associated Press:

Beginning Wednesday, more illegal immigrants coming through Maricopa County could meet the same fate as the sheriff's department beefs up its efforts to find illegal immigrants.

A 250-member posse that will operate similarly to the anti-smuggler task force will patrol the area for illegal immigrants who pay smugglers to cross through Arizona, the busiest illegal entry point along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.

The posse will be made up of existing sheriff's deputies and members of the department's 3,000-member posse reserve of trained, unpaid volunteers.

A recent Arizona state law makes human smuggling a crime -- it was already a federal crime -- (though largely unenforced by those who have the power to do so!) allowing local law enforcement agencies to arrest suspected smugglers.

And so in steps another player: Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas. He believes the law can be applied to the smuggled immigrants themselves, thinking that illegal immigrants who pay smugglers to enter the United States are committing conspiracy to smuggle and can therefore be prosecuted under the state law.

Sounds to me like the continual controversy of "spirit of the law" vs. the "letter of the law."

Which philosophy do you think should win? And on whose side should the law lean?

Naturally, attorneys for some of the arrested illegal immigrants have filed motions to have the charges dismissed. One LA lawyer brought into the case by the Mexican Consul General's Office in Phoenix (big clue there) filed another motion claiming Thomas and Arpaio are violating state and federal law and are using the conspiracy charges to control illegal immigration, which, they allege, is the federal government's job.

Easily countered: the federal government ISN'T DOING ITS JOB. Period.

Again, from the AP story:

Arpaio said the motions don't worry him.

"I get sued when I go to the toilet. You think I'm worried about it?" he said. "If they think I'm going to slow down because of these threats, I've got news for them - I'm not going to slow down. I'll do more of it."

Balls. Pure and simple.

So few of them left in this country.

Huh, George?

BZ