AZ Governor Yanks Sherrif Joe Arpaio's Illegal Immigration Funding

The citizens of Arizona always vote overwhelmingly in favor of legislation to make illegal immigration more difficult. Almost all of us want the border secured, and many of us want a guest worker program that verifies; Who is coming here, Where they're gong to work, & that they Return home when their paperwork expires.
Our public officials, however see the illegal immigrants as valuable constituents (perhaps voters), and works to confound every law our initiative process can get on the books. A notable exception is Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio who send his officers out to arrest illegal aliens and either puts them in jail or turns them over the federal government for deportation.

Valley Fever - Governor yanks Arpaio's immigration funding:
"Much of the money for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's immigration-enforcement efforts lately has poured out of a special pool of state money.

But New Times has learned that Governor Janet Napolitano's turning off the spigot.

In what appears to be a prelude to a major fight between Napolitano and Arpaio, the governor issued an executive order last week to develop a new task force--headed up by the state Department of Public Safety--to find and arrest tens of thousands of felons with outstanding warrants.

And, according to a letter from DPS Director Roger Vanderpool to Arpaio outlining the new effort, the task force will be funded with the money that Arpaio isn't getting anymore.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted just last week to renew an agreement between the DPS and the Sheriff's Office that would've allowed Arpaio to obtain $1 million in special funds for fiscal year 2009, which starts in July.

A review of receipts and requests for reimbursement from the Sheriff's Office shows that most of the money obtained last year was used to pay the salaries and overtime expenses of deputies involved in immigration enforcement. The state funds also were used to lease numerous vehicles from Fox Rent A Car and also to purchase radios and other equipment.
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Whether the governor's tactic of escalation works politically remains to be seen. Recent polls show that most county residents still approve of Arpaio's methods, despite criticism that he's racially profiling practically anyone who's skin's brown as a potential illegal alien--notably American citizens."

Notes: 2/3 of the people sheriff's officers pick up in sweeps turn out to be illegal aliens, the other third are promptly released. The sweeps take place where illegals congregate - its like looking for burglars at the scene of frequent robberies, or drug dealers where the junkies hang out.

Responsibility for the 60,000 outstanding warrants is disputed - Sheriff Joe says they're the responsibility of the Phoenix PD. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon disputes this - this may be part of the reason for a recall petition for the mayor.