Officials OK agreement for county jail officers in Arizona to have federal immigration powers

October 6th, 2009 Feds limit Arizona sheriff's immigration powersPHOENIX — An Arizona sheriff known for aggressively cracking down on illegal immigration has been stripped of some of his special power to enforce federal immigration law, and he claims the Obama administration is taking away his authority for political reasons. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose office faces racial profiling allegations over crime and immigration sweeps in some heavily Latino areas of metro Phoenix, said officials from Washington won't let him renew a deal that let his deputies make federal immigration arrests.

August 14th, 2009 Arizona sheriff raids firm seeking illegal workersPHOENIX — An Arizona sheriff who has aggressively cracked down on illegal immigration sent deputies into a Phoenix paper plant where they arrested 44 employees suspected of identity theft or immigration violations. Sheriff Joe Arpaio says Thursday's raid on the Royal Paper Converting Co.

August 11th, 2009 AZ jail: Polygamous church leader off feeding tubeSALT LAKE CITY —Arizona jail officials say polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs is eating normally and no longer needs to be force-fed through a tube. Mohave County sheriff's spokeswoman Trish Carter says a feeding tube that had provided Jeffs with liquid nutrition for about a week was removed Friday.

August 10th, 2009 A look at the US immigration detention systemU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement housed about 33,345 people per night in July at facilities across the country.

August 8th, 2009 Obese TX inmate hides gun in his flabs of fatHOUSTON —An obese inmate in Texas has been charged after officials learned he had a gun hidden under flabs of his own flesh. Twenty-five-year-old George Vera was charged with possession of a firearm in a correctional facility after he told a guard at the Harris County Jail about the unloaded 9mm pistol.

August 8th, 2009 Obese Texas inmate hides gun in his flabs of fatHOUSTON —An obese inmate in Texas has been charged after officials learned he had a gun hidden under flabs of his own flesh. Twenty-five-year-old George Vera was charged with possession of a firearm in a correctional facility after he told a guard at the Harris County Jail about the unloaded 9mm pistol.

August 5th, 2009 Fla. deputy shoots, kills inmate trying to escapePALATKA, Fla. — Officials in Florida say a corrections officer shot and killed an inmate who tried to escape from jail by climbing a razor wire fence.

August 4th, 2009 Arizona jail force-feeding sect leader JeffsBEAVER, Utah — A letter from a doctor says polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs is being force-fed in an Arizona jail to prevent the possibility of "imminent death." In a letter filed with the Mohave County Superior Court on Monday, county jail Medical Director Kirsten Mortenson told a judge that Jeffs has been refusing to eat and is no longer urinating. She says Jeffs's vital signs are worsening and he is suffering from malnutrition.

July 31st, 2009 Arizona sheriff balks at feds' enforcement changePHOENIX — The self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff in America" has never gotten so much resistance from the federal government. The Homeland Security Department wants Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., to stop arresting illegal immigrants whose only crime was crossing the U.S.-Mexico border without documents.

July 16th, 2009 No charges against Mesa police in fetus flushingPHOENIX — Prosecutors in Arizona won't file charges against five Mesa police officers for their role in flushing a stillborn fetus down a toilet. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office determined a crime wasn't committed last month when an officer flushed the 4-inch fetus down a toilet in a motel room.

July 10th, 2009 Homeland unveils immigration enforcement planWASHINGTON — An overhauled federal program allowing local and state law enforcement officials to arrest and deport immigrants will focus on the most serious criminals and limit officers' police powers, the Homeland Security Department said Friday. The agency reworked the program, which had been criticized by the Government Accountability Office and led to a Justice Department investigation of the Maricopa County, Ariz., sheriff's office.

June 21st, 2009 Immigration enforcement in Arizona could toughenPHOENIX — As America's busiest immigrant smuggling hub, Arizona has earned the distinction as a place that's tough on people who sneak across the border. That reputation would harden if the Legislature and governor approve a proposal that would draw local authorities deeper into immigration enforcement and further reject the notion that immigration is the sole responsibility of the federal government.

June 17th, 2009 AG Holder says agents will get new powersWASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder says federal immigration agents will get expanded powers to help fight Mexican drug cartels. Holder says an announcement is imminent on a new agreement between the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

June 13th, 2009 Sheriff: Arizona home invaders wanted all deadTUCSON, Ariz. — Two of three people arrested in a fatal southern Arizona home invasion had connections to a Washington state anti-illegal immigration group that conducts border watch activities in Arizona.

June 3rd, 2009 Ariz. sheriff under scrutiny wants tables turnedPHOENIX — A lawyer for an Arizona sheriff who has aggressively cracked down on illegal immigration has asked for a probe of federal officials who are investigating the sheriff's office for alleged discrimination and unconstitutional searches. Robert Driscoll, a lawyer for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, said in a letter that Department of Justice investigators conducting the civil rights probe improperly shared documents with the Department of Homeland Security, which is auditing Arpaio's use of federal immigration powers.