MCSO suspends patrols for illegal immigrants

Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix)

A federal court ruling that found that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office engaged in racial-profiling
has managed to do what Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s critics have sought to do for years.

The agency no longer patrols the county looking for undocumented immigrants, and Arpaio’s
work-site enforcement raids have come to an end — at least for now.

A hearing scheduled in U.S. District Court today will help determine exactly how Arpaio’s
agency trains its deputies and enforces laws in the future.

But, for now, the ruling has forced the Sheriff’s Office to not only alter its approach to immigration
enforcement but also change the way the agency describes its work. For the past three weeks,
deputies who encountered undocumented immigrants have rescued the border crossers as
part of a humanitarian effort instead of arresting them on illegal-immigration charges.



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/20130613mcsos-shift-migrants.html