Immigrant Hell in Maricopa County, Arizona

For an expose of the the harsh treatment of immigrants in Maricopa County, Arizona, click here.  According to the story, “[t]he situation for undocumented immigrants in Maricopa County is arguably the worst in the country, thanks to two men: County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio.”  Both have aggressively targeted undocumented immigrants.  “A crackdown by Arpaio’s deputies on law-abiding immigrants — including food vendors, college students, and day laborers — has left the community so frightened that many immigrants will not even leave their homes to visit the grocery store or go to church. Even American citizens of Hispanic descent say they are nervous. One citizen New Times spoke with carries his United States passport around to prove he’s a citizen.”

As we have written about in past blog entries, Arizona’s new employer sanctions law goes into effect tomorrow.  So things are unlikely to get better soon in Maricopa County or, for that matter, in the rest of Arizona.

KJ