On February 4th, 2009, Joe went on a rampage. He rounded up immigrant detainees and forced them to march, shackled, to a segregated "tent city" surrounded by electric fences in the Arizona desert. The Maricopa County office announced the project in a statement entitled, "Arpaio Orders Move of Hundreds of Illegal Aliens to Their Own Tent City."
His actions were so appalling that even the House Judiciary wrote a public letter to the Attorney General and head of the Department of Homeland Security calling for an investigation into Arpaio's tactics.
We are joining with America's Voice and other human and civil rights advocates across the country to get Arpaio investigated by the Department of Justice. Events to protest Joe are taking place across the country.
Please sign the petition to the Department of Justice. If you've signed that petition already, send this letter to your representatives and the Attorney General and please spread the word.
For more information about how to organize events in your community, check out NDLON's website.
For more information on Sheriff Joe Arpaio:
Immigration Policy Center: the high cost of the Sheriff's antics.
America's Voice: Highlights of the Sheriff's record.
Investigate Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio!
To Whom This May Concern:
We, the undersigned, respectfully request that you join the call to investigate Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, for gross civil rights violations in the name of immigration enforcement.
No official is above the law, and yet Sheriff Arpaio has engaged in racial profiling and civil rights abuses for years with impunity.
The case against the publicity-hungry Sheriff is well documented and horrifying. Joe Arpaio has made a mockery of our justice system by:
Relying heavily on racial profiling and double standards: routinely stopping drivers for minor violations and only forcing "Latino-looking" drivers to produce Social Security cards.
Engaging in sidewalk "crime sweeps" in low-crime communities - detaining those who cannot prove their citizenship status on the spot, while allowing dangerous felons to roam free.
Promoting horrifying detention conditions that have been condemned by health agencies and human rights organizations.
Arpaio's prisons have been stripped of their health standards accreditation, the Mayor of Phoenix and other law enforcement officials have denounced the Sheriff's tactics, the Governor of Arizona has pulled some of his key funding, and over 2,700 lawsuits have been filed against him. Meanwhile, crime has surged. The Sheriff's office has over 40,000 outstanding warrants for real felons that it simply hasn't had time to tackle.
Elected officials are subject to our nation's laws. Sheriffs should be held accountable for fighting crime, not rewarded for spreading fear. We request an immediate Department of Justice investigation into Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his appalling tactics.
[Your name]