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Opinions/Editorials Title: Profiles of Nationalist Leaders around the World: Joe Arpaio Joseph M. "Joe" Arpaio (born June 14, 1932) is an American law enforcement officer, and the sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona. Arpaio, who promotes himself as "America's Toughest Sheriff,"[1][2] has become controversial for his approach to operating the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. He has a large number of vocal supporters as well as opponents. Arpaio continues to earn the support of Maricopa County voters who reelected him sheriff by double-digit margins in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008. In 2007 a petition to recall Arpaio from office failed to gain enough voter signatures to get on the ballot. His practices have been criticized by organizations such as Amnesty International,[3] the American Civil Liberties Union, the Arizona Ecumenical Council, the American Jewish Committee,[4] and the Arizona chapter of the Anti-Defamation League.[5] The editorial board of The New York Times called Arpaio "America's Worst Sheriff".[6] Arpaio was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and is of Italian heritage.[citation needed] His mother died while giving birth to him, and Arpaio was raised by his father, a grocery store owner. He completed high school and worked in his father's business until age 18 when he enlisted in the United States Army.[7] Arpaio served in the Army from 1950 to 1954 in the Medical Detachment Division and was stationed in France for part of the time as a military policeman.[8] Following his discharge from the Army in 1954 he moved to Washington, D.C. and became a policeman, moving in 1957 to Las Vegas, Nevada. He served in Nevada only six months before obtaining a job as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, which later became part of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).[9] During his 25-year tenure with the DEA, he was stationed in both Turkey and Mexico, and advanced to the position of head of the DEA's Arizona branch.[10] In 1992, Arpaio successfully campaigned for the office of Maricopa County Sheriff. He was re-elected in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008.[11] He married Ava Arpaio in 1958. Arpaio and his wife have two children and four grandchildren.[12] In 2005, the Arizona state legislature passed a state law making it a felony, punishable by up to two years in jail, to smuggle illegal aliens across the border. While already a federal crime, Arizonas law, also known as the Coyote law, made it legal for local police to enforce immigration law and also classified persons being smuggled as co-conspirators subject to penalties as laid out in the law.[32]. Arpaio has instructed his sheriff's deputies and members of his civilian posse to arrest illegal aliens. Arpaio told the Washington Times, "My message is clear: if you come here and I catch you, you're going straight to jail.... I'm not going to turn these people over to federal authorities so they can have a free ride back to Mexico. I'll give them a free ride to my jail."[33] On March 3, 2009, the United States Department of Justice "notified Arpaio of the investigation in a letter saying his enforcement methods may unfairly target Hispanics and Spanish-speaking people" [34] Arpaio, denying any wrongdoing and welcoming the investigation, said he would cooperate fully.[35] In October 2009, the Department of Homeland Security removed the authority of Arpaio's 160 federally trained deputies to make immigration arrests in the field. Despite the actions of the Department of Homeland Security, Arpaio has maintained that he will still pursue illegal aliens under Arizona state law.[36]
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#1. To: Thor (#0)
A ringing endorsement for conservatives! Joe makes the liberals wet their pants.
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