Maricopa County Arizona Sheriff, Joe Arpaio, has 160 deputies and jail officers specially trained to make federal immigration arrests and speed up deportations. Arpaio has made it his life's mission to deport any and all illegal immigrants in his jurisdiction...regardless of whether or not they are actually illegal. Telemundo 52 (in Spanish) via Latina.com describes the horror that Alma Minerva Chacon had to endure at the hands of Sheriff Arpaio's department:
The most recent atrocity committed by the self-proclaimed "America's Toughest Sheriff" involves a woman who was detained while 9-months pregnant. Alma Minerva Chacon's case has been receiving media attention due to the brutality with which she was treated. The very same night of her arrest, Chacon went into labor and found herself afraid and alone, being rushed to a local hospital with her hands and legs chained in shackles.
More below the fold.
Even casual followers of Arpaio's cruel and inhumane treatment of those unfortunate enough to be rounded up in his "sweeps" can imagine how terrified this woman, on the verge of delivering a baby, must have been. It gets worse.
Once she reached the hospital, nurses repeatedly begged the Sheriff's staff to allow them to unchain the mother, but they refused and Chacon was forced to give birth while still shackled to the bed. At one point, the nurse asked for them to release her so that she could be escorted to the bathroom for a urinalysis, but even that request was denied. But the worst came once Chacon gave birth to her baby girl.
I honestly can't imagine a situation where a human being could so disrespect the rights and dignity of another human being that they would do that (well maybe I can but that's another diary for another day). It's not like the woman was going to escape with a f*cking dilated cervix or anything. As alluded to above, yes, it does get worse:
Still chained to the bed, Arpaio's police staff refused to allow Chacon to hold her newborn baby and then warned her that if no one came to pick up the child within 72 hours, she would be turned over into state custody.
I've read this three times now and it still brings tears to my eyes. It's just so wrong. I guess it should come as no surprise then, that Sheriff Arpaio considers it an honor to be compared to the Ku Klux Klan. In the following clip, Arpaio tells Lou Dobbs (I know, how appropriate) that he and Dobbs should be proud to be called members of the KKK:
DOBBS...how do you react to that?
ARPAIO: Well you know, they call you KKK. They did me. I think it's an honor. It means we're doing something.
DOBBS: Just so the right people are doing it. Right.
"It means we're doing something"...F*ck you Sheriff, you are an animal.
UPDATE: Arpaio is leading all potential contenders in a Rasmussen poll for Governor of Arizona.
A new Rasmussen poll of Arizona finds that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is known nationally for his hard-line stance against illegal immigration, would be the strongest possible Republican candidate for governor in next year's election.
Democratic state Attorney General Terry Goddard, the likely Dem nominee for governor, was tested against three Republicans. Goddard leads incumbent Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, who succeeded to the office after Dem Gov. Janet Napolitano was appointed Secretary of Homeland Security, by 44%-35%. Goddard edges state Treasurer Dean Martin by 40%-38%, within the ±3% margin of error.
Arpaio, however, leads Goddard by a convincing margin of 51%-39%. He is not currently a candidate, but that could change with numbers like these.
Seriously unbelievable.
UPDATE II: America's Voice has set up an online petition directed at Attorney General Eric Holder. It reads, in part:
Honorable Eric Holder
Attorney General of the United States
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530
We, the undersigned, respectfully request that you direct your office to investigate Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, for gross civil rights violations in the name of immigration enforcement.
No official is above the law, and yet Sheriff Arpaio has engaged in racial profiling and civil rights abuses for years with impunity.
The case against the publicity-hungry Sheriff is well documented and horrifying. Joe Arpaio has made a mockery of our justice system by:
* Relying heavily on racial profiling and double standards: routinely stopping drivers for minor violations and only forcing "Latino-looking" drivers to produce Social Security cards.
* Engaging in sidewalk "crime sweeps" in low-crime communities – detaining those who cannot prove their citizenship status on the spot, while allowing dangerous felons to roam free.
* Promoting horrifying detention conditions that have been condemned by health agencies and human rights organizations.
If you're so inclined, please consider signing this petition.