(Phoenix, Arizona) On Saturday, an estimated 4,000 people marched peacefully for six miles from the Maricopa County Sheriff Office to its “tent city” jail to draw attention to an emerging civil rights crisis in the nation’s fifth largest city. The march was nearly disrupted by the actions of several, well-known white supremacists who hurled racial epithets in an effort- as the Anti-Defamation League noted- to incite violence.
Alarming video footage and photos on white supremacist web pages have surfaced documenting an amicable exchange between Joe Arpaio and his neo-nazi supporters. The videos show Arpaio taking photos with white supremacists and passing along information about the marchers’ progress.
In the past, Arpaio has been criticized by Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon for directing law enforcement resources at the request of white supremacists. Just yesterday, the Sheriff issued a press release announcing the expansion of his “Posse Program” which deputizes and arms local vigilantes.
Thousands of Phoenix residents marched against the civil and human rights abuses that Sheriff Joe and his Maricopa Dept continue to practice. Dignity and pride filled the march throughout its 5 mile stretch. As the march continued, people in their homes at their jobs joined the collective protest against Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The anti-immigrant movement is cultivating a climate of hate captured here by local news channels
This video exposes the racial hate that the Immigrant Rights movement in Phoenix have to deal with:
Read these following articles from Steven Lemmons of the Phoenix New Times, Lemmons Blog
"I am calling for an end to the civil and human rights violations being committed in Maricopa County," Rev. Al said in a press release issued this morning, "the termination of the 287g program through which local agencies can enforce Federal immigration laws, and the immediate resignation of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The egregious nature of Arpaio's abuses, marking him as the Bull Connor of the 21st Century, demands nothing less."
Contact: Chris Newman, 323-717-5310,
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Date: March 10, 2009
On March 10, Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King sent a letter to Sheriff Joe Arpaio announcing a Department of Justice investigation of alleged "discriminatory police practices and unconstitutional searches and seizures conducted by the MCSO," among other alleged violations of federal law. A copy of the letter is available here. The formal investigation follows a request by Congressman Conyers that the DOJ take action to respond to myriad complaints of racial profiling in Maricopa County. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon first requested a DOJ investigation nearly a year ago. And on February 28, over 5,000 people marched four miles through Phoenix to ask the the federal government to immediately terminate its 287g(g) contract with Joe Arpaio.
On March 11, at 1 pm, advocates from across the country and civil rights leaders will join elected officials, including Congressman Conyers and Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, to discuss the investigation in a press conference on Capitol Hill.
"We are very hopeful a Department of Justice investigation will vindicate the rights of people who have been terrorized by Sheriff Arpaio," said Salvador Reza of the PUENTE movement in Phoenix, AZ. "We also hope the Obama administration will immediately terminate the US government's 287(g) contract with Maricopa County while the judicial process takes its course."
(Phoenix, Arizona) On Saturday, an estimated 4,000 people marched peacefully for six miles from the Maricopa County Sheriff Office to its “tent city” jail to draw attention to an emerging civil rights crisis in the nation’s fifth largest city. The march was nearly disrupted by the actions of several, well-known white supremacists who hurled racial epithets in an effort- as the Anti-Defamation League noted- to incite violence.