Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said the Obama administration’s decision to file a lawsuit against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is not surprising, but that men and women in law enforcement will stand by the man they believe is enforcing the law and protecting the citizens of Arizona.
“Hooray for Sheriff Joe,” Babeu told CNSNews.com. “He’s standing up for Arizona and is actually enforcing the law.”
Babeu said the lawsuit against Arpaio is the latest in a series of attacks by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which has already filed a lawsuit against the state of Arizona, challenging legislation passed earlier this year to crack down on illegal immigration in the state.
The DOJ lawsuit against the state claims that Arizona is usurping the federal government’s sole right to enforce immigration law.
The case against Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office basically concerns what the DOJ says is that office’s interference with its investigation into claims that the Sheriff’s Office uses discriminatory practices to catch illegal immigrants.
The lawsuit cites Title VI of the Civil rights Act and states that, “Since March 2009, the United States has attempted to secure Defendants’ voluntary cooperation with the United States’ investigation of alleged national origin discrimination in Defendants’ police practices and jail operations. Despite notice of their obligation to comply in full with the United States’ requests for information, Defendants have refused to do so. Defendants’ refusal to cooperate with reasonable requests for information regarding the use of federal funds is a violation of Defendants’ statutory, regulatory, and contractual obligations. The United States accordingly seeks a judgment granting declaratory and injunctive relief for Defendants’ violations of the law.”
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