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AZ detainees on hunger strike, threaten violence Phoenix (AP) -- Three jails in Arizona's largest county are on an indefinite lockdown after some inmates threatened other inmates for refusing to participate in a hunger strike, sheriff's officials said. The Arizona Republic reported on its Web site that the lockdown took effect at 3 p.m. Monday at Maricopa County's Towers Jail, the Fourth Avenue Jail and Lower Buckeye Jail. 'Lockdown will continue until they start eating again,' Sheriff Joe Arpaio said. The Associated Press

AZ detention costs soaring as feds shirk bill Arizona and its counties have spent hundreds of millions of dollars each year on costs associated with incarcerating criminal illegal immigrants while the federal government has grudgingly paid a fraction... AZ task force uncovers drop house with 14 suspected illegals Avondale, AZ (AP) -- A joint immigration task force made up of the Department of Public Safety, Phoenix police and federal immigration agents have discovered a drop house in Avondale.... AZ sheriff sends pointed letter to Sharpton {0471DDF0-D0D8-48A8-9E30-ADD40CBE0269} The controversial sheriff of Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, Ariz., has told the Rev. Al Sharpton to get straight on the facts before "you bring your circus to town"...

More Arizona Immigration News

53 illegal entrants caught in AZ

Tucson -- The following is a press release from the Department of Homeland Security: U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Tucson Sector made a significant discovery and arrest in less than 24 hours. In one incident, a group of fifty-three...
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AZ community upset by checkpoint

Green Valley, AZ (AP) -- Local business owners say a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 19 north of Tubac is killing tourism, putting residents in harm's way and costing million of dollars in home sales. But Border Patrol officials...
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AZ authorities jail illegal for 11 years

An illegal immigrant from Mexico who was living in Chandler and using 16 aliases was sentenced to 11 years in prison on a drug-related charge, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced this week. The East Valley Tribune (Phoenix)...
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AZ jail risk loss of ICE contract

The Pinal County Sheriff's Office is trying to fix approximately 100 security and safety deficiencies at its detention facility in Florence that had a major renovation and expansion less than three years ago. An audit of the Pinal County Adult...
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AZ county efforts nab 50 illegal aliens

Canada is "soft" on asylum seekers, says Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who didn't exactly bristle at the comment, was very quick to comment that the flow of refugee claimants from the Czech Republic to Canada...
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AZ Rep calls for apology from county sheriff

Tucson, AZ (AP) -- A U.S. Congressman, several state legislators and members of Tucson-area school boards are demanding an apology from Pima County's sheriff after remarks he made last week. Congressman Raul Grijalva and others signed a letter criticizing Sheriff...
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AZ prosecutor: SCOTUS ruling irrelevant to state ID laws

Phoenix -- Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday on ID theft and illegal immigration will not affect the state's prosecution of these cases. The Supreme Court ruled that the federal government over-stepped its bounds...
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Body of illegal entrant found in AZ desert

U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered the body of a 26-year-old Mexican man Saturday afternoon west of Lukeville on the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The search for the man began on Wednesday of last week when a friend of the...
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AZ activists protest county sheriff

Thousands of people gathered in downtown Phoenix to show their disapproval with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's immigration policies. In Sun City West, about 150 met outside a recreation center to show support for the sheriff's unwavering commitment to arresting...
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AZ governor lobbies for National Guard troops on border

Phoenix -- Rebuffed by the Department of Defense, Gov. Jan Brewer is taking her call for more National Guard troops on the border to Congress. And this time she's got help. In a letter released Friday, Brewer and her counterparts...
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AZ sheriffs want queries on students status

Phoenix -- Some border county sheriffs want Arizona schools to start asking students whether they're in this country legally. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik originated the idea and said millions of dollars in Arizona taxes go to teach English to...
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Arpaio addresses Arizona State college Republicans

He is a man who needs no introduction. A man who used the back door of the lecture room he spoke at on the West campus to avoid about 20 students and protestors who acknowledged his arrival by shouting "coward."...
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Senate panel consults AZ officials

In a state that has become the country's biggest transit point for illegal drugs and illegal immigrants, and in a city that has subsequently become the kidnapping capital of the United States, members of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and...
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AZ town resists rumored detention center

Rancho Sahuarita residents concerned about safety and plummeting home values are circulating petitions and besieging City Hall with e-mail and phone calls in an attempt to block a proposed federal detention center north of Sahuarita. A petition drive led by...
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AZ leaders target sanctuary cities

Until last year, Phoenix police officers were banned from inquiring about the immigration status of people contacted during routine encounters such as traffic stops and misdemeanor arrests. The idea behind the policy was to create an environment in which crime...
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AZ attorney general asks for feds help along border

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard addressed the U.S. Congress on March 16 to speak about public safety and border issues such as illegal human, drug and weapons smuggling back and forth across the United States-Mexico border. He was accompanied by...
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AZ sheriff plans another enforcement sweep

Maricopa County -- Maricopa County deputies and posse members will be out in force tonight for another crime suppression operation, but the exact time and location are being kept under wraps. Similar crime sweeps have stirred up controversy of the...
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Senate panel discusses border in AZ

The U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee came to Phoenix Monday to discuss border issues, including the growing drug cartel wars in Mexico. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a member of the committee said the drug wars don't just...
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AZ sheriff interviewed on Colbert show

New York -- Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- skipping a congressional hearing on U.S.-Mexico border problems -- defended his policies on Stephen Colbert's Comedy Central Show Monday night. 'I'm an equal opportunity law enforcement guy, I lock everybody up,'...
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AZ activists march for amnesty

Maria Ruis sat in the shade cradling her 1-year-old disabled daughter, Gracie, Sunday afternoon before marching in favor of immigration reform. Ruis, a restaurant manager and a housekeeper, said the United States is the only place where Gracie, who has...
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AZ House advances crackdown on sanctuaries

The House of Representatives has given preliminary approval to a bill designed to crack down on so-called sanctuary policies that limit or prevent local law enforcement officers from enforcing federal immigration laws. The measure, H2331, by Peoria Republican Tom Boone...
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AZ city police chief says enforcement drains resources

Mesa Police Chief George Gascón used a press conference about felony arrests to call the use of officers to enforce immigration laws a waste of resources. The intent of the news conference was to highlight the arrests of 173 felons,...
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AZ lawmakers seek end to local sanctuaries

Local governments across Arizona would be prohibited from enacting policies that prevent them from enforcing federal immigration law, under a proposal tentatively approved by state lawmakers Tuesday. The measure, House Bill 2331, would bar cities, towns and counties from following...
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AZ sweep nabs two under state employment laws

Phoenix -- Two men have been arrested at a Scottsdale business in a case related to the state's employer sanctions law. One of the suspected illegal immigrants arrested was earning more than $85,000 a year, according to Maricopa County Sheriff...
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DHS Sec. to visit Arizona border facilities

Former Arizona governor and current secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, will be at the border in Nogales on Wednesday. According to a press release from the Department of Homeland Security, Napolitano will make stops at Columbus, N.M.; El Paso...
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AZ bill would end sanctuaries

Illegal immigration will be in the spotlight today when lawmakers in the House of Representatives will debate a measure that would end so-called 'sanctuary policies' some cities have adopted. If the bill passes, cities and counties would be prohibited from...
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AZ students work as health care interpreters

An unnecessary hospital stay. A misunderstood legal ruling. Those can be consequences of a language barrier, and University of Arizona interpreting students are helping bridge the communication gap. 'We need help because it's as if we were blind' without the...
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AZ city policy chief foots bill for DC testimony

Mesa Police Chief George Gascón today announced that he has decided to pay for his trip last week to Washington, D.C., where he testified before a congressional panel. Gascón had been asked by U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers,...
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Court date set for driver in fatal AZ crash

A new court date has been set for a driver accused of a November car collision that led to the death of 16-year-old Kelly Tracy, a Highland High School marching band student from Mesa. Manuel Contreras-Galdean, 32, is scheduled to...
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AZ county suspends immigration holds as jail space shrinks

The Mesa County Jail is popping at the seams with so many local inmates that it can't accept any more Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds. The ban on ICE holds is temporary until the jail population recedes, Mesa County Sheriff...
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