Posse Rounding Up Illegals

Do something about this problem! But don't do something about this problem!

I had to quote the gentleman from the pro-"immigrant" group. Would it still be racial profile if they were following "guys that are blond and blue-eyed?"

With the tactics calling a spade a diamond getting to the basics of an issue is almost impossible. Right up there with trying to track terrorists; if you can't use any data or aspects that are most appropriate to your quarry....

"It is racial profiling, they don't follow guys that are blond and blue-eyed." - Elias Bermudez

Cross posted from Curiouser and Curiouser:

The AccessNorthGa news site reports on a roundup of illegal aliens in Maricopa country,
Arizona that has a posse of several hundred deputized officers arresting
illegals where they find them.

GILA BEND, Ariz. (AP) -- Four Mexican men sit in the dirt with
their wrists bound, shoulders hunched and eyes lowered to avoid the glare
of the rising sun.

The immigrants had been on their way to build a dairy farm in this town
about an hour southwest of Phoenix. But after a traffic stop for a faulty
brake light, members of a sheriff's task force targeting human and drug
smugglers found they were not U.S. citizens. Now they were bound for
federal custody.

And the posse:

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.

An interpretation of a relatively new law in Arizona is being used for the
round-up:

The four illegal immigrants pulled over Monday will be turned
over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and sent back to Mexico.
But those that are captured by the posse may end up in jail, charged under
a state law that has been used against more than 100 illegal immigrants in
Maricopa County this year.

The law made human smuggling a state crime in Arizona - it was already a
federal crime - allowing local law enforcement agencies to arrest
suspected smugglers. It was meant to crack down on smugglers, but under a
disputed interpretation, County Attorney Andrew Thomas argues the law can
be applied to the smuggled immigrants themselves.

Thomas maintains illegal immigrants who pay smugglers to enter the United
States are committing conspiracy to smuggle and can therefore be
prosecuted under the state law.

The sheriff says:

"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."

Nearly instantaneously, lawyers from out of state have tried legal
measures to stop Arpaio. But he says:

"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."

And then, of course, there are the "guilt merchants" who try to make
everyone who is only trying to enforce the law feel bad for the criminals:

Alfredo Gutierrez, a Hispanic activist and former Democratic
state senator, called Thomas' interpretation of the law and Arpaio's use
of it "political pranks."

"Every act like this contributes to the angst and anger and desperation in
our community," Gutierrez said.

Elias Bermudez, president of the pro-immigrant group Inmigrantes Sin
Fronteras, or Immigrants Without Borders, questions the legality of the
immigration posse itself.

"It is racial profiling," he said. "They don't follow guys that are blond
and blue-eyed."

Bermudez said Arpaio is "a good criminal sheriff, but he needs to go out
there and find criminals. He wants to go after the poor, undocumented
immigrant who is hungry and thirsty in the desert. That is totally
inhumane."

Personally, I don't think it will work.

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.**

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