Last night, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow covered the current voting issues in Arizona, specifically two races that have gained national attention: Sheriff Joe Arpaio's re-election bid and the Senate race between Republican Jeff Flake and Democrat Richard Carmona.
In case you missed if, here is what Maddow had to say last night.
This week Citizens for Professional Law Enforcement, which according to its site, is an "independent expenditure political campaign committee formed to defeat Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio," released its first ad against Arpaio. Just two words: Pink underwear.
In the meantime, CFPLE is telling voters to choose Democratic candidate Paul Penzone on Election Day. Here is the ad. We think it is pretty effective, kind of like a demented and twisted "Schoolhouse Rock."
We asked Roberto Lovato to record his thoughts and impressions about a meeting he and others from the Caravan for Peace had with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio last week in Phoenix. Here is what Lovato sent us this weekend.
“America's Toughest Sheriff” has the softest hands of any lawman in the West.
Observing Sheriff Joe Arpaio's hands up close, it reconfirmed a basic understanding I had about him, the lack of which has led many to give Arpaio more anger than is healthy: that he's more showman than lawman.
CREDIT: Roberto Lovato
When his hands are not pointing to someone every other minute to reinforce some disagreement he has—or says he has—with you, they move and speak in a manner I find familiar, an animated manner that obviously speaks to his Italian immigrant roots (Arpaio told us his parents were immigrants) of the man whose name is, for many, synonymous with “immigrant hater.”
I noticed the story of Arpaio's hands during a meeting that he held last Thursday with Javier Sicilia, the poet and leader of the Caravan for Peace (Caravana) who had brought a small group of Mexican and US nationals to meet with “Sheriff Joe.” We were in Phoenix as part of a 21-city bus tour that seeks an end to the drug war that—along with the undeclared immigration war in Arizona and across the US—has defined Arpaio's larger-than-life public persona for years.
We knew we were heading into potential conflict in Arizona and we found it directly inside Arpaio's office, along with the tragicomedy of the yellowish, saggy-skinned and nail-bitten hands of the Tea Party icon. Arpaio rejected our initial request to meet with him and then changed his mind after we visited his office. He even went so far as to invite local media, who responded to his invitation within 10 minutes, as if they were on call and ready to accommodate the sheriff.
CREDIT: Roberto Lovato
“I'd like to speak to your heart,” Javier said, in an appeal to a fellow Catholic in Arpaio. “Tell me where (in the Bible) it says that you have to humiliate human beings. Where does it say you have to hate your enemy?”
“I don't like to talk about religion,” Arpaio responded, while putting is hands in front of him as if to push away an evil spirit or to cover his heart.
“You should not mix politics and religion…. It has no bearing on the illegal immigration problem or the drug problem,” Arpaio continued as he made manual buffers of his hands, which he also thumped on the table for emphasis as he looked at the cameras.
When Javier, a serious Catholic who regularly quotes Gandhi and whose bear hugs have become legendary in the Mexican media, offered his own hands to Arpaio in one of the less tense moments of a very conflict-ridden meeting, the sheriff responded by pulling his hands back and covering over one hand with the other.
CREDIT: Roberto Lovato
When Arpaio disagreed with everything from the bilingual interpretation of the meeting to US drug war policy, he mustered whatever energy there was in his 80-year-old hands to accompany his “Let-me-tell-you” talk, which has now become his stock-and-trade, both in person and on TV.
While his ham-fisted actions—denouncing, persecuting, and humiliating immigrants—are, indeed, reprehensible acts worthy of our repudiation, they are just part of the performance made obvious by Arpaio's soft, operatic hands. Remembering this branded performance of fingers, fists, and other gestures may help us better keep our anger in check. It is a performance just like any other performance we might see anywhere else. Arpaio's hands are telling us that we can still fight his vicious policies and practices, because in the end his finger puppets are just part of the tragicomedy that is “The Sheriff Joe Show.”
Roberto Lovato of Presente.org is currently traveling with the Caravan for Peace, and you can follow his updates at his Twitter page: @robvato.
So let's get this straight. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio spends the last few years (yes, even President Bush's administration was already questioning his motives) creating an atmosphere of anti-Latino hate and fear that profiled American citizens of Latino origin and those "crimimal illegals" all in the name of secure borders, but once you get the US Department of Justice to file a civil complaint (code word: lawsuit), all of a sudden Arpaio—who says the suit is politically motivated—wants to improve his image within his county's Latino community.
To quote a famous clown: "Homey don't play dat."
This is what local Arizona press reported on May 9:
Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced departmental changes Tuesday to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in an effort to mend fences with the Hispanic community.
Arpaio made the announcement just hours after receiving notice from the Department of Justice that it plans to sue his office.
More community forums focused on the Hispanic community and deputies receiving Spanish language courses are just two of the forthcoming steps intended to ease the tensions brought on by Arpaio's handling of immigration enforcement.
The two sides have been at odds for months over the federal agency's investigation into the sheriff's department and accusations of racial profiling during crime sweeps.
"I don't tolerate racist attitudes or behavior. But perception can be more powerful than fact. I want to address the concerns of the Hispanic community openly," Arpaio said.
"I don't think they really understand what we're doing and this (policy shift) will open it up and I think there's a misunderstanding on how we operate in enforcing illegal immigration laws."
While Arpaio intends to improve relations with the Latino community, he made it clear that he will not cave to federal agents, who want to place their own monitor in his jails.
Arpaio rejected that idea but is considering hiring his own monitor.
"I am not changing the oath I took to enforce all of the laws. I will continue to enforce the laws," he said.
Here is the full united video from the May 10, 2012 United States Department's press conference detailing its lawsuit against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and Arpaio are being sued for alleged acts of racial profiling, specifically among US citizens of Latino descent, and for unconstitutional law enforcement practices.
"The police are supposed to protect and serve our communities, not divide them."
Thomas Perez, US DOJ
What follows below are the entire public documents describing in full detail the lawsuit filed this week by the United States government against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Arpaio has already gone on record to say the following, as reported by CNN:
"They're using me for the Latino vote, showing that they're doing something, taking on the sheriff over an alleged racial profiling," Joe Arpaio told reporters in Phoenix. He vowed to defend himself, not for selfish purposes, but to help the thousands of other sheriffs in the country avoid finding themselves in similar situations.
"I'm not going to surrender my office to the federal government," he said. "I will fight this to the bitter end."
Democracy Now! provided as rather extensive and detailed report about the recent suit filed by the US Department of Justice against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose office has been charged with racially profiling Latino residents in the Phoenix area. Here is the video of the segment and the transcript from today's segment.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We begin today’s show in Arizona. On Thursday, the Justice Department sued Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his deputies in Maricopa County for racially profiling Latino residents in the Phoenix area. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit only once before in the 18-year history of its police reform work.
The 32-page complaint contends that Arpaio and his deputies aggressively targeted Latinos regardless of their immigration status and retaliated against anyone who got in their way. According to the complaint, Latinos at the county jail were often referred to as "wetbacks" and other ethnic slurs. The complaint also alleges Latino drivers were five to nine times more likely than their non-Latino counterparts to be stopped or searched.
Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division announced the lawsuit.
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL THOMAS PEREZ: The police are supposed to protect and serve our communities, not divide them. At its core, this is an abuse-of-power case involving a sheriff and a sheriff’s office that disregarded the Constitution, ignored sound police practices, compromised public safety, and did not hesitate to retaliate against perceived critics. Constitutional policing and effective policing go hand in hand. Our complaint alleges the defendants’ actions were neither constitutional nor effective.
AMY GOODMAN: Sheriff Joe Arpaio vowed to fight the lawsuit. He said he’ll defend himself to help other sheriffs avoid finding themselves in similar situations.
SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO: We’re just doing our job, enforcing the illegal immigration laws. We are not racist. We do not racial-profile. There’s no systemic proof of that. And quite frankly, I’m very happy that we are being sued, because now we will make them put up everything they’ve been accusing me and my office of. The bottom line here, as my attorneys mentioned, I am not going to surrender my office to the federal government. I will fight this to the bitter end.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Supporters of Sheriff Joe Arpaio maintain that the federal government has failed to police the southwestern border, leading to an influx of undocumented immigrants who have allegedly drained social services and created other problems. Sheriff Joe Arpaio has also told reporters in Phoenix, quote, "They’re using me for the Latino vote, showing that they’re doing something, taking on the sheriff over an alleged racial profiling."
AMY GOODMAN: A Department of Justice probe last year accused Arpaio of targeting Latino residents, illegally detaining them, then denying them basic rights behind bars. Settlement talks between Arpaio and federal officials broke down last month over Arpaio’s resistance to allowing an independent monitor of his department.
For more, we’re going to Phoenix, Arizona, where we’re joined by Randy Parraz, a longtime critic of Sheriff Arpaio, president of Citizens for a Better Arizona, the group that led a successful recall effort against Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce, the leading lawmaker behind Arizona’s anti-immigrant law, SB 1070.
Randy Parraz, welcome to Democracy Now! Talk about the significance of this case.
RANDY PARRAZ: Good morning.
Yes, I think it’s very important, because now the case has moved forward, and there’s an actual lawsuit. Sheriff Arpaio, with his recent release of a reform document, is actually admitting that there’s problems there. Now, he’s been in denial for quite some time. You know, he thinks this is a fight or some type of war against the federal government. You know, this is not United Counties of Arizona; we are in the United States of America. The federal government, under the Department of Justice, an investigation began under the George Bush administration, that continued. These are seasoned professionals in the civil rights department who are doing their job. And so, it’s unfortunate that Sheriff Arpaio chooses to whip up, you know, his political machine, instead of come to the table and just deal with these issues.
I was someone who was targeted by sheriff deputies and arrested back in 2008 for speaking out against Sheriff Arpaio. These are real instances. There are other U.S. citizens who have been stopped, detained and arrested. These are real instances. Sheriff Arpaio is in La-La Land. He is a relic from the past, and he needs to come to terms with his behavior that he’s actually created and the culture of corruption he’s created there in the sheriff’s department.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Randy, the complaint by the Justice Department not only centers on the actual practices of the department in terms of these roundups in neighborhoods, surrounding whole neighborhoods and stopping everyone and demanding identification from everyone in these neighborhoods, but also talks about the emails that went back and forth between members of the department, these outrageously racist emails. Could you talk about that, what you know of in terms of the operations of the department?
RANDY PARRAZ: Yes. I mean, it’s just a culture that was created there where they thought it was OK as being sheriff deputies, high-ranking commanders, supervisors, when you have things going around referring to Mexicans as "Mexican bitches," using cartoons and talking about—you know, showing a drunk Mexican on a bench, you know, saying that that’s their form of yoga. I mean, there was just, time after time, different instances where they felt comfortable, you know, vilifying, making fun of a community of people who are Latinos, based on the culture that Sheriff Arpaio has created there.
And so, we believe, finally, we’re going to have an airing of what’s taken place. You know, we applaud the federal government and the Department of Justice for coming in and holding Sheriff Arpaio accountable, because local law enforcement officials here, whether it’s the county attorney, Bill Montgomery, or it’s the state attorney general, Tom Horne, are unwilling to do that work. We just recently had—you know, yesterday marked the day that former County Attorney Thomas, Andrew Thomas, was officially disbarred for his behavior, for what he did here in Maricopa County, and he was also in partnership with Sheriff Arpaio. So Sheriff Arpaio’s former chief deputy, David Hendershott: fired. You know, former County Attorney Andrew Thomas: disbarred. You know, Russell Pearce: recalled. And now you have Sheriff Arpaio, like the only remaining pillar of that triangle of corruption, that remains.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: But Randy, this also—this lawsuit—or this complaint now also sort of sets the Justice Department, in some way, up against the Department of Homeland Security, because Janet Napolitano, who is from Arizona, has never really called out Joe Arpaio on any of the—of his activities or any of his practices.
RANDY PARRAZ: I think, absolutely. I think Janet Napolitano at one point actually sought Sheriff Arpaio’s endorsement when she ran for governor, so I think you’re touching on some really interesting points there in terms of, you know, who’s really going to lead this effort and who’s willing to speak out and really hold these folks accountable. I think you have this investigation, which we—especially folks who live here under this corrupt, you know, regime, this reign of terror, and it’s real. They talk about wall of distrust that exists between the sheriff’s department and the Latino community, and that’s very real.
AMY GOODMAN: Randy?
RANDY PARRAZ: So, I don’t think—yes.
AMY GOODMAN: I also wanted to ask you about recent reports that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio publicly mocked federal authorities probing his office for racially profiling of Latinos at a fundraiser for an anti-immigration group in Texas in 2009. Arpaio said, quote, "After they went after me, we arrested 500 more just for spite." Can you talk about this report, Randy Parraz?
RANDY PARRAZ: Yeah. Once again, it just shows that Sheriff Arpaio is more concerned about his own political image. He sees, you know, whether it’s Latino immigrants, as pawns in his own political game. There was a time here when Sheriff Arpaio—I think it was in 2006—was on record saying, "I’m not concerned about those immigrants or those folks who are here, you know, selling elote, corn vendors, those types of folks. I want to go after real criminals, those smugglers, those folks who are bringing drugs in." And then that changed in 2006, 2007, when he thought it was in his political interest to get on the bandwagon and do immigrant bashing and going after those immigrants and playing that card.
And so, now I think he’s overplayed it. I think now people are fatigued about this whole notion, where he has, you know, illegally misspent over $100 million. There’s been—there’s over 400 uninvestigated sex crimes that took place under his watch. He’s moved a tremendous amount of our resources and put it under other priority by going after, you know, immigrants. And so, I think, you know, we’re at a point now where this is all going to come to a head, because his election now is up in November. And so, whether, you know, we see it—we get justice in the courtroom for the civil action being brought by the Department of Justice or get justice at the ballot box, this is all going to come down this year. So it’s going to be a very exciting year for trying to get Arizona back on the right direction for progress here in Arizona.
AMY GOODMAN: Randy Parraz, I want to thank you very much for being with us, president of Citizens for a Better Arizona. The group led a successful recall effort against State Senator Russell Pearce, the leading lawmaker behind the anti-immigrant bill, SB 1070. Now, well, it’s the U.S. Justice Department that’s taking on the sheriff, U.S.A. v. Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
APRIL 1, 2012 (PHOENIX): After analyzing a Univision interview where Maricopa Country Sheriff Joe Arpaio admitted that he once used to live in Mexico, today a joint force of US Homeland Security and Mexican government agents conducted an early-morning raid of Arpaio's office, arresting the sheriff and deporting his ass to Tijuana.
The deportation was immediate, once investigators corroborated information that Arpaio told Univision's Jorge Ramos in March, when the sheriff said the following: "Well, I'm a pretty nice guy, having lived in Mexico City, South America, Texas and Arizona. I've never had any problems with a Latino. They love me."
Those revealing statements led to an unprecedented joint task force between the two countries that confirmed that yes, Arpaio was indeed Mexican, having been born to a family of Lucha Libre promoters from Guadalajara. In fact, the task force encountered Arpaio's forged US birth certificate, which turned into his original Mexican one after one astute agent put the certificate onto a tortilla grill, causing the fake US information (written in wax) to melt.
Arpaio did not comment, but was heard saying, "PINCHES CABRONES!!!!!" as he was whisked away in handcuffs from his office. This is the image that was taken by agent photographers:
The Real Sheriff Joe Arpaio
In an ironic twist, Mexican President Felipe Calderón has already contacted other Latin American countries to see if they would just take Arpaio. So far he has gotten no offers.
"Crap," Calderón said via Skype, "We cannot believe that this motherfucker was Mexican. What the hell will we do?"
Right now, Arpaio will be employed by a Tijuana drug store, where he will be used for human growth hormone testing.
Today, Maricopa Country Sheriff Joe Arpaio held a press conference where he claimed (along with his Cold Case Posse) that President Obama's birth certificate is a forgery.
Here are video segments of the press conference embedded from ABC15.com.
Already on Facebook, the conspiracy theories and opinions are out in full bloom.
Kudos to Al Punto for broadcasting the Jorge Ramos exclusive interview with the controversial sheriff Joe Arpaio, who claims he is not anti-immigrant and that Latinos "love" him. The full Engish transcripts and full video in Spanish can be found below.
JR: Sheriff Arpaio, thank you so much for talking to us again.
JA: Thank you.
JR: I understand that you're going to release your own findings about President Barack Obama's birth certificate. Do you really believe that President Barack Obama is not an American? Why are you doing this?
JA: You know, I've had 250 Tea Party come to my office wanting me to investigate that birth certificate. I'm the elected sheriff. I decided to do it. I have my cold case posse, volunteered ex-cops, lawyers — no cost to the taxpayers — so we have been working on this and on March 1, I will release our preliminary findings.
JR: What's your suspicion? I mean, President Barack Obama released on April 2011 his long-form birth certificate. What is it that you want to find out? You don't believe that he was born in Hawaii?
JA: I'm not going to avoid your question. On the other hand, on March 1 I will present what evidence we have. I'm really investigating the birth certificate, which — not really the President — I want to see all the facts of that birth certificate.
JR: But what's your motivation? Why are you doing this? Is there a political purpose for this? You're doing this right before the election you know that.
JA: Well, that has nothing to do with it. This has been going on for three months. The people have come to me, my constituents, and asked me to look into it. I don't throw it in the wastebasket, so I'm looking into it. It's very simple. Maybe I can clear the President. We don't know.
JR: Clear the President, for what?
JA: Well, there's been a lot of controversy about whether he's a U.S. citizen; a controversy on the birth certificate itself.
JR: Are you questioning that the President Barack Obama is a U.S. citizen? Are you really doing that?
JA: I'm not saying that. We are looking at the birth certificate to see if it's valid and that's what our thrust is, with a few other questions we have and other matters regarding that situation.
JR: All right, let's talk about politics and about the Republican candidates. I've been listening to them for the last few months and all of them sound like you when it comes to immigration. Do you feel vindicated?
JA: Well, I met with all of them in person in my office or on the campaign trail or by telephone. They all want my endorsement. I presume if they didn't like my fight against illegal immigration they wouldn't be asking for my endorsement. I'm not tall, dark and handsome so there must be a reason that they're asking me to support them.
JR: What do you make of Romney's self-deportation policy. Do you think that could work?
JA: Well, I don't know about that situation. Why wait for them to self — to leave the country? Why not enforce the laws here in the United States if they're here illegally and send them back to their country? What is this self-deportation have to do with it?
JR: But how are you going to send back 11 million undocumented immigrants Sheriff Arpaio? That's completely unreasonable.
JA: Well, we've done all right here.
JR: But not 11 million –
JA: They said over — 100,000 –
JR: – I mean, are you going to send them back by buses or airplanes? What's the plan?
JA: – if every state did what I'm doing I think we wouldn't have a problem.
JR: Are you still arresting, detaining undocumented immigrants in Arizona?
JA: Yes, we are. We just arrested 31 more recently coming into our country illegally, arresting them. The majority we booked into our jail. We don't turn it over to ICE, and we're going to continue to raid businesses that hire illegals. The majority have false identification, so I'm not stopping doing my job.
JR: But are you breaking the law? I mean, the Justice Department just banned you from being part of a federal partnership program that would have allowed your agents to become immigration officers, so aren't you breaking the law now by doing that?
JA: No, because we're enforcing state laws. They don't want me to enforce the federal laws. I don't have to. We're enforcing state laws.
JR: Did you say that it is political garbage not to arrest undocumented immigrants in this country?
JA: No, I said — I may have referred to the Justice Department investigation where they went public on a press conference without allowing me to know about it and accuse me of racial profiling. All I want is the facts from the Justice Department. We're working together. I hope to get it resolved, but if not, we'll have to go to court, or they will go to court against me.
JR: But they have accused you of racial profiling, Sheriff Arpaio. They accused you of “a pervasive culture of discriminatory bias against Latinos” that “reaches the highest levels of the agency.”
JA: – That’s their opinion.
JR: — They are accusing you and your agents of targeting Latinos simply because the way they look and because of the way they talk.
JA: That's their allegations. Why didn't they come up with the facts and prove it to me? This is what? just a 22-page report that they put out accusing me. Why don't they come up and give me the facts, the proof? That's all I ask for.
JR: Well, I mean they've been investigating this for three years and they are simply saying that what you do is unconstitutional policy; that what you're doing is not constitutional; and that basically you are targeting Latinos and immigrants because of the way they look; that you have implemented racist policies.
JA: Well, you know — well, let me ask you. You talked about politics. They've been doing it for three years. Why are they cracking down with their press conference right now? Because it's politically — it's politics. That's what this is all about. What took them so long? Why are they doing a –
JR: But it's not –
JA: — big press conference now?
JR: It's not my opinion, Sheriff Arpaio. One hundred and six people have reported being victims of racial profiling in your county, where you are.
JA: I want — I want to know who the victims are, who's making these allegations, and put the facts on the table, and we'll work with them and try to correct any measures if there are any problems. But they're not giving us the information.
JR: Now, as you know, to many Latinos, Sheriff Arpaio, you are the face of racism and discrimination. You know that.
JA: Well, I'm a pretty nice guy, having lived in Mexico City, South America, Texas and Arizona. I've never had any problems with a Latino. They love me.
JR: They don't.
JA: — So just because I am enforcing the state laws –
JR: They don't. They don't, Sheriff Arpaio.
JA: – they don't like –
JR: You're making fun of this, but –
JA: No, they did.
JR: — but they don't love you.
JA: No, I'm not making fun.
JR: Yes, because you are making fun –
JA: Well, how do you know they don't?
JR: You are making fun of the fact –
JA: No. How –
JR:– do you –
JA: – do you know? How do you know? How do you know they don't like me? How do you know? There may be a small group of activists.
JR: I've seen — I've seen many polls. I've spoken to many undocumented immigrants, and they are simply telling me this: that for them you are –
JA: Well, what polls?
JR: — the worst of America –
JA: I've got my own polls.
JR: — the face of racism and discrimination.
JA: Okay. All right. That's what they want to say. Then I'll tell you what, I'm going to tell you I'm going to continue to enforce the laws. If they don't like what I'm doing, get the laws changed in Washington or in the State of Arizona.
JR: Let me give you an example.
JA: Then I won't be enforcing the laws.
JR: Let me give you an example. You keep on calling them illegals, right?
JA: Illegal aliens.
JR: Okay.
JA: That's what's the official –
JR: You call them illegal aliens.
JA: — connotation.
JR: Why don’t you call illegal –
JA: That's what — that's what they are.
JR: — all the American companies that hire them, who are also breaking the law? So that's a double standard. You call them illegal.
JA: No.
JR: You don't do the same with American citizens. Why — why do you do that?
JA: Do it — I do it all the time, that so-and-so committed an illegal act. They committed murder. I use the word "illegal" in any crime. It doesn't matter whether it's fighting the drug or illegal immigration problem.
JR: Are you for a fence? Do you think there should be a fence between Mexico and the United States?
JA: That's a good question. Of course, they can buy ladders to hop over it. What I want to do, I'm getting tired of politicians saying we must secure the border and then they say, “First, we'll do it first and then we'll look at the illegal immigration problem.”
JR: So you think it's a good idea, again, to build a fence?
JA: Well, I'll go for the fence on one condition, and that is when they hop the fence with their ladder that they go directly to jail. That's it. Don't send them back so they can get, you know, a fence that's higher. If they hop the fence, I want them to do time in jail, and then I will be for the fence.
JR: And let me just finish with this. We've spoken twice, and I still can't understand why you keep on talking to us. Are you — why are you doing this? As you know, many people in the Hispanic community, many immigrants simply hate you.Why do you insist on talking to us?
JA: Well, I don’t –
JR: What's your agenda? What do you want to achieve by talking to us? I really appreciate it as a journalist, but why are you doing it?
JA: Because — because you called me. I didn't call you, and you are a fair, well-known reporter, well respected. So why — what do you think, I'm afraid to talk to you? I'm not afraid to talk to you or anybody else. I talk to everybody. I'm an equal opportunity guy. I don't back down for the media or anybody else.
JR: Sheriff Arpaio, thank you so much for talking to us, really.
JA: Thank you.
