A few thousand people marched Feb. 28 in downtown Phoenix to protest Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's illegal-immigration policies.

Authorities say the ”March to Stop the Hate'' was peaceful with no major incidents reported.

Crowd estimates from organizers and law enforcement were not immediately available, but at least one estimate put it at about 3,000.

Along the march route, up to 200 Arpaio supporters gathered at the Wells Fargo Tower, where Arpaio has his headquarters. Many carried signs in support of the embattled sheriff.

The event was led by the National Day Laborers Organizing Network and El Puente Arizona.

The marchers headed south on Central Avenue past the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building and the route ended at the federal building on Washington Street.

Two weeks ago, four members of Congress asked the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a civil rights investigation of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, saying Arpaio has shown a disregard for Hispanics during his crime and immigration sweeps of heavily Latino areas in metropolitan Phoenix.

But Arpaio said his deputies didn't racially profile anyone in his series of sweeps and vowed to change nothing in response to the investigation request.