After the arrest of respected African-American scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., which sparked a renewed debate about racial profiling, we should remember that racial profiling is still a common occurrence appearing in different forms and without media attention. Often, even in clear instances of discrimination, not much is done about racial profiling in America.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who touts himself as America’s Toughest Sheriff, is a prime example of this. Arpaio is Sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County where his controversial tactics have made him a household name. Among his more incendiary practices is his"Tent City" an extension of Maricopa County Jail, where prisoners are housed in tents in the desert, under inhumane conditions. Additionally, his publicized march of shackled immigrants to a segregated portion of the Tent City last February not only exemplifies Arpaio’s disrespect of detainees’ rights to fair treatment, but also demonstrates his continuing disregard for the rights of others, especially Latinos, in Maricopa Country.
Specifically, Arpaio has transformed Maricopa County Police Department into an immigration-enforcement agency, and gained a Department of Justice investigation in the process. A recent New Yorker story also sheds light on his character, speaking volumes about his self-promotion and abuse of power that has led to over 2,700 lawsuits in federal and county courts.
Arpaio is sadly powerful due to his involvement with the 287(g) program, which formalizes partnerships between the federal government and local law enforcement officials under which local police are authorized to enforce federal immigration laws. While Arpaio believes he is enforcing the law, the system in place is short on regulation of his rampant racial profiling. Arpaio has used the program as a pretext to search for undocumented immigrants in numerous immigrant sweeps wherein he stops Latinos for minor traffic violations in order to inquire about their documentation.
Organizations have called for the program’s repeal as it encourages police to target Latinos for minor or fabricated crimes in an effort to get them deported. However, it was recently announced that the program would be, in fact, extended.
We need only look at the example of Maricopa County to understand the devastating effects the increased 287(g) program will have on our communities,” said Chris Newman, Legal Programs Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. "The Obama administration must recognize that the 287(g) program is predatory and ripe for corruption and profiling that will harm community stability and safety for everyone.”
Omar Jadwar, staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project adds that changes to the program make “no serious attempt at discouraging illegal racial profiling or reducing the conflict between sound community policing principles.
Arpaio said he plans to continue to conduct his “immigration enforcement efforts” under state laws. Only time will tell if the current administration will take a step against Apraio’s abuses that have created an environment of fear and intimidation among immigrants communities. Racial profiling is embedded in our society in subtle ways but it is never too late to target a system like 287(g) that allows it to persist. We must uphold the value of racial justice that we should not be judged by the color of our skin. The bigotry of Sheriff Arpaio and his supporters must be exposed, confronted, and overcome, and the system that allows it must be dismantled.
