By JACQUES BILLEAUD

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona sheriff known for crackdowns on people living in the country illegally is giving up his last major foothold in immigration enforcement efforts that won him popularity among voters but gradually were reined in by Washington and the courts.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office revealed late Wednesday that it was agreeing to disband a controversial squad that has raided businesses to arrest more than 700 immigrants who were charged with using fake or stolen IDs to get jobs.

"He has proved that when he gets involved in immigration enforcement, he tramples on the U.S. Constitution, at great expense to taxpayers and public safety," said Cecillia Wang, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer who won a racial profiling case against Arpaio's office.

The revelation that Arpaio was voluntarily closing his criminal employment squad comes after the sheriff's office was stripped of special federal immigration powers, found to have racially profiled Latinos in traffic stops, and investigated by federal authorities for alleged civil rights violations. The courts also have thrown out many of Arizona's immigration laws.

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http://news.yahoo.com/sheriff-halt-squad-targeting-immigrant-id-theft-160639485.html