It is not without controversy that
the Presidential pardon of former Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio
has come under fire. Arpaio, the first convicted person to be pardoned by
President Donald Trump has drawn criticism from politicians from both the left
and the right. But if the former sheriff is guilty of anything it can be of
only one thing—he followed the law in spite of political correctness.
It
was back in 2011 when the sheriff ignored an order by District Judge G. Murray
Snow regarding Arpaio’s order to sheriff deputies to continue stopping
suspected illegal aliens, mostly Mexicans, and turning them over to federal
officers. The sheriff, who had the reputation of being the “hardest sheriff” in
the United States, was simply following immigration law as he understood it.
But
with the revised idea of political correctness immigration law seems to have
taken a back seat as to what is right and what is wrong. As a consequence
United States District Judge Susan R. Bolton found Arpaio guilty of Bolton’s
order citing the sheriff had shown a “flagrant disregard” for Bolton’s order.
Following the conviction Judge Bolton was set to send Arpaio to jail. Since his
conviction was legally a misdemeanor, the most time the sheriff could spend in
jail was six months. It was then President Donald Trump stepped in and issued a
Presidential pardon to Sheriff Joe.
It
is true that Arpaio was a hard-nosed sheriff. He didn’t put up with the niceties
of incarceration. In fact he made jail time as miserable for inmates as legally
possible. He forced them to wear pink underwear, sleep in tents in 100 degree
plus weather and even read inmates nighttime stories as well as playing
classical music and much more. His theory was to make jail time as unappealing
as possible so inmates never again wanted to be incarcerated. And according to
recidivism statistics, his idea worked.
But
being a “hard nose,” did have its consequences. Arpaio took on everyone from
councilmen, mayors, legislators and far-left liberals. Many of these folks took
him to task only to be beaten back. During his term as sheriff, Arpaio was
re-elected to office no less than five times! He served as sheriff from 1993
until 2016 when he was indicted. The result was he was finally defeated by a
Democrat Paul Penzone. The new sheriff quickly disbanded many Sheriff Joe’s
programs.
The people of Maricopa
County loved Arpaio and backed him to the hilt. But that wasn’t good enough for
those who believed in political correctness. It mattered little that the
adoption of this PC nonsense was in violation to federal law. The law on the
books stated that illegal immigration is a crime and those who came to the
United States under such circumstances were in fact law-breakers. And it was on
this premise that Sheriff Joe based his decisions in spite of opposition from
the left. And this is one of the reasons President Trump issued a presidential
pardon.
But with the defeat of
the former sheriff a new age of law enforcement will take place in Maricopa
County and it is believed many of the new policies won’t necessarily be in the
best interest of the community.
Illegal immigration is a
sore problem. Exactly how to combat it is something that dates back to the
conquest of Arizona and California by the hordes of “immigrants” from the east
who invaded the western territories in the 1880’s. Back then both states
belonged to Mexico. In fact Mexican ownership extended all the way up to Oregon
and Washington State. The large Mexican landowners didn’t resist their new
neighbors believing that all could live in harmony and peace. But that wasn’t
to be. Conflicts arose driving the Mexican Dons from their land and causing
armed conflicts. The Mexicans finally retaliated but in the end lost all that
they owned.
Today many Mexican’s
believe that the land had been stolen from Mexico. And in fact this may be
true. But nevertheless the line has been drawn and Mexico no longer owns any
part of either state. The result is that a conflict continues as to who are the
real citizens of Arizona or California. The Mexicans believe their right to the
land is a sacred heritage but Americans believe that the land is justly United States
territory not to be invaded. Over the course of time, the latest was the
Mexican-American War between 1846 and 1848, the two countries have been able to
live in relatively peaceful conditions. But the question remains—does Mexico
have a legitimate claim?
With the division come
other problems as well. And it is these problems that Sheriff Joe confronted.
The insatiable desire for illegal drugs by American citizens prompted Mexican
cartels to spring up in an effort to satisfy this “need.” Arizona, Texas and
California are the spots that enable so many drug traffickers to infiltrate the
United States along with other people who simply want a better life. The former
are the ones that Arpaio set his sights on. The result however snagged many who
were guilty of illegally entering the United States looking for jobs to support
their families.
So the question remains;
did Sheriff Joe go too far in apprehending criminals? Not really, he was only
enforcing the law on the books and if anyone has a problem with that so be it.
But in fairness immigration law should take into account those Mexican people
who have blended into American society and have proven to be good citizens.
Remember, this was once their land! President Trump obviously understands this
but he also understands that the United States is the United States.
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