AZ Policy Wonk

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he is still planning a sweep July 29 despite Judge Susan Bolton’s decision to halt the most significant parts of S1070.

Arpaio said he’s still going to enforce Arizona’s human smuggling laws and employer sanctions laws as he’s done the last three years. The only difference is how suspected illegal immigrants who haven’t broken a state law will be treated.

Had the key portions of S1070 stood, those people would have been booked into jail, Arpaio said. Now, they will be turned over to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which Arpaio said his deputies have always done.

“This is not going to interfere with how we operate,” Arpaio said. 

Arpaio said he wasn’t disappointed with Bolton’s decision because it will be appealed. He thinks the appeal will be successful. 

“I don’t think the activists should be celebrating in the streets yet,” Arpaio said.

Sen. Russell Pearce, the bill’s sponsor, held an impromptu press conference in the hallway of the Senate building after refusing to take questions about S1070 during an event to call attention to a new state law that will allow people to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

Pearce said the immigration law still allows police to ask about residency status, but instead of charging under the state law, police will have to turn suspects over to ICE.

Pearce said it was encouraging that Bolton left in the provision that prohibits local governments from limiting or restricting the enforcement of federal immigration laws. He accused Mesa, Chandler and Phoenix of being among cities in Arizona with sanctuary policies.

“We will sue them,” he said.

Pearce also believes the state will win the legal battle if it reaches the U.S. Supreme Court.

“We wrote this for this battle,” Pearce said.

Police are preparing for a crowd of between 25,000 and 50,000 people to protest at the Capitol this weekend that could draw the likes of Crosby, Stills, Nash and, unfortunately, not Young.

Rumor has it the famous trio of crooners will make an appearance, though it’s not been confirmed. If Neil Young was expected to be here, I would be much more excited, frankly. But even without him, this protest rally is likely to be much larger than the ones that preceded it.

The protests started last month after the Legislature passed S1070, which led to Arizona’s new immigration law, and continued until after Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill. Those initial rallies topped out at a few thousand people, though they attracted a lot of national media attention.

Saturday’s protest, though, will be the first of what likely will be a series of weekend rallies. At least two more protests are scheduled for the following weeks, according to Arizona Capitol Police officials.

In 2006, an estimated 100,000 people marched at the Capitol to show support for the rights of immigrants, so Phoenix is no stranger to large protests. But S1070 changed the tone of the immigration debate, and many police agencies no doubt are preparing for the worst while hoping for a peaceful demonstration like the one four years ago.