(CBS 5 NEWS) - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced that approximately 100 volunteer posse and Sheriff's Deputies will soon begin randomly patrolling the desert areas and main roadways in southwest Maricopa County as a part of an operation to curb the flow of illegal immigrants entering the county. Arpaio made the announced just as 11 more illegal immigrants were being booked in jail after a Ford Windstar with California plates and 16 people packed inside was stopped by a Sheriff's deputy early Tuesday morning on a traffic violation near Gila Bend. Despite the growing controversy about illegal aliens nationwide, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office remains the only Arizona law enforcement agency willing to enforce a new state anti-smuggling law. "There are so many illegals trying to make it into the county that it's overwhelming my deputies, so I have called on members of my 3000 member volunteer posse to assist," says Sheriff Arpaio. "It's not only illegals we find and arrest out there, we've also made some recent huge drug seizures involving illegal aliens including nearly 100 pounds of methamphetamine and approximately three pounds of heroin." Posse man Andrew Ramsammy, who was part of Tuesday's arrest team, says that he believes he represents many of his peers when he says that the posse is anxious to be a part of the Sheriff's solution to the immigration problem. "As a group of law abiding people, we are fed up with the number of people who come into this county illegally. We're tired of the drugs that some of them bring to sell to our young people and we're ready and willing to assist the Sheriff's deputies in the fight against illegal immigration," says Ramsammy. Sheriff Arpaio says Tuesday's arrests include two coyotes, one of whom may be charged with a far more serious offense - endangerment. Virgilio Parra Sabori may face a class 6 felony charge if it is determined that he recklessly left one of his customers to die in the desert. That customer who may have paid as much as $1100 to gain entrance into the country, was a 24-year-old Mexican male found near death by deputies who combed the desert earlier today after being told by other people in the vehicle that one man was left behind. That young man was found lying in the sun on the desert floor and is currently in serious condition in a west valley hospital. Arpaio says today his deputies so far have made seven anti smuggling cases in the last few weeks alone and that 120 illegals have been arrested and jailed. Arpaio houses 10,000 prisoners in his jails, including almost 2000 in a tent city he erected in 1993. Tent City is being expanded to hold an anticipated increase in of inmates being incarcerated in the Maricopa County jails.
APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz. (AP) -- Tensions over immigration got a little heated Thursday in Apache Junction. The East Valley Tribune says the Mexican flag was brought to school by a Hispanic student in response to what he said was a racist remark directed at him the day before. After he and other students raised the flag on the school's flagpole, the newspaper says another group of students took it down and burned it. The burning and ensuing shoving match between the two groups of students happened before most students arrived at the school. The school's principal says all six students involved will be disciplined. Security was beefed up after the incident but there were no other problems at the school yesterday. Information from: East Valley Tribune/Scottsdale Tribune, http://www.aztrib.com
Illegal Immigrants Plan to Sell Ranch Won in Lawsuit (CBS 5 NEWS) - Two illegal immigrants are now the legal owners of an Arizona ranch seized from its anti-immigrant activist owner. In 2003 the two men were confronted by Douglas rancher Casey Nethercott. He says they were on his property illegally and allegedly pistol whipped them. He got five years in prison for the incident on a felon in possession of a firearm charge. The Southern Poverty Law Center sued him on the immigrants' behalf and won his 70-acre ranch. The two men are currently applying for visas, but say they will sell the ranch. 01.26.06
Governor Vetoes Border Bill PHOENIX (AP) -- Governor Napolitano vetoed a proposal Thursday that provided $10 million for her plan to send National Guard troops to the Arizona-Mexico border to help federal authorities confront illegal immigration. Her rejection of the bill came a day after the governor signed an order that expanded the National Guard's presence at the porous border yet held off on increasing the number of troops there until funding is set aside. Napolitano objected to the bill's requirement that she send troops to the border. In a letter to lawmakers, Napolitano says the mandate was an unconstitutional infringement of her powers to command the National Guard. The National Guard has assisted in anti-drug and other law enforcement efforts at the Arizona border since 1988. The governor wants to add more troops at the border to perform support duties in an effort to give federal agents more time to catch people crossing illegally into Arizona, the nation's busiest illegal entry point. 03.09.06
8 Illegal Immigrants Injured, Coyote Killed in Crash One Dead, 8 Injured in Shooting & Fiery Crash On April 24, 2006, just before midnight, a suspected illegal immigrant was driving a truck with eight people in it from Mexico to Phoenix. He was a "coyote", smuggling these eight illegal immigrants into the United States to go to Phoenix, according to police. Among the eight passengers were a 10-year-old boy and his sister, a seven-year-old girl. At some point while driving on I-10, approaching Phoenix, the "coyote" driver noticed he was being followed by two vehicles. One was a white 2000-2005 Dodge Ram PU with a temporary tag in the rear window. The other was a dark green or black Ford F150 PU. At one point a passenger told the "coyote" to call 911 on his cell phone but he would not do it. The "coyote" got off the I-10 Freeway at the 24th Street exit and tried to lose the two following vehicles. In the area of 3400 S. 24th Street, one of the suspect vehicles collided with the "coyote's" vehicle. One of the suspects started shooting at the coyote's vehicle. The "coyote" was able to keep driving briefly as the suspect continued to fire. The "coyote" was struck in the back by a bullet. He asked the passenger to help him drive, but he could no longer control the vehicle. It veered off the roadway, rolled, and burst into flames. The "coyote" was killed by gunfire. All eight passengers were injured. They were taken to several area hospitals, including Maricopa County Hospital, Good Samaritan, and St. Joseph's. The children were treated and released. "This could have been much worse than it was. This many people in a pick-up truck, rolling over in a desert area and going through a fence, we're very fortunate that more people were not seriously injured," says Phoenix Police Officer Randy Force. Investigators believe the motive was probably a hijacking and/or robbery. According to police, sometimes predators drive or monitor the freeways looking for the signs of a coyote transporting undocumented migrants. They then try to either rob the coyote and migrants, or kidnap them to try to force the migrants and their families to pay again for their release in the United States. Investigators are asking anyone with information to call the Phoenix Police Department or Silent Witness. 04.26.06
Instinctively, I like this guy. Regardless of her reasons, I think using the NG in any role in civil law enforcement is a violation of the Posse Comitatus act. Help me here if I'm wrong.
I agree, gotta love a guy who wont caudle criminals even when pressured. I may interpret it off, but I would have to say it would fit their basic role, or at least that of the military since their most basic duty is to secure our borders and protect the country from outside threats, they are not as I understand it being sent or requested to police US citizens, they are being called on to keep out foriegn persons and groups of persons comeing across our borders contrary to the mandates of our gov and border regulations. So as far as I can see it would have no conflict at all with the posse act and would simply be that they would actualy be doing what they are there for.
