Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio are the only law enforcement officials in the country arresting and prosecuting illegal immigrants under an anti-human smuggling (coyote) statute.
An Arizona jury returned a guilty verdict against an illegal immigrant for conspiracy with a coyote to smuggle himself into the country, a felony under Arizona law. Adolfo Guzman-Garcia will be sentenced for a class 4 felony, punishable by up to 3.75 years in prison, on December 5, 2006. Almost 336 illegal immigrants have been arrested and 161 have already accepted guilty pleas offered by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
Thomas noted that it was the first time in U.S. history that an anti-smuggling law has been used to successfully prosecute illegal immigrants, by plea offers and now a jury verdict, describing the landmark decision, "The glacier of illegal immigration is starting to drip away. In Maricopa County, we will continue to keep the heat on until both smugglers and conspirators get the message." (Apparently global warming is occurring in Arizona?)
Since Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio began enforcing the law against illegal immigrants in March of this year, the numbers of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the Mexico-Arizona border has decreased. Arpaio declared, "The word is out, don't come through Arizona. Instead they are heading for California or Nevada's border."
So far, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office has achieved a 90% conviction rate of those arrested. Detractors have criticized the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for a legal opinion it provided Arpaio with that confirmed the anti-smuggling law could be applied not just to coyotes, but to illegal immigrants through Arizona's conspiracy statute. Unless specifically exempted by the legislature, conspiracy laws apply to all felonies. One coyote has been convicted by a jury.
"So far we have won every substantive battle," Thomas said. Although a few left wing defense attorneys, including ones selected by the Mexican government, have challenged application of the law in court, it has withheld judicial scrutiny and has been upheld. Maricopa County Judge Thomas O'Toole presided over the trial of Guzman-Garcia. Both Judge O'Toole and Maricopa County Superior Court Judge David Cole denied motions by defense attorneys to dismiss the complaints, ruling that the application of the smuggling law was not preempted by federal law nor did it conflict with state law. O'Toole had dismissed one complaint earlier this year against an illegal immigrant when it got to a jury, stating that all of the elements of the crime ("corpus delicti") hadn't been satisfied, but in this second case, held an evidentiary hearing where he found there was enough of a basis to send it to a jury.
The local Arizona media has mostly ignored the arrests and convictions of illegal immigrants since they began in March of this year, claiming that there have been no "convictions" under the anti-smuggling statute and that no jury has found any of the arrestees guilty. This is playing with words. Accepting a guilty plea, as 161 illegal immigrants have done, results in a "conviction" on their record. And there hasn't been any jury convictions until now because most of the suspects accepted guilty pleas instead of going to trial (a handful of cases were dismissed); they never made it through the process to a jury trial, which can take up to six months. Leaves the mainstream media with egg on its face now.
Thomas had harsh words for I.C.E., the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency, for failing to deport the illegal immigrants after they pled guilty and were convicted. "The reality is we live in a border state and we are awash in illegal immigration," Thomas said. "They have a duty to uphold the law and the Constitution." When Sheriff Arpaio first started arresting them under the human smuggling law, I.C.E. refused to pick them up after conviction for deportation, instead, Arpaio and his deputies had to drive them themselves to Yuma next to the border. However, Arpaio said that since I.C.E. has changed leadership in Arizona, it has begun picking them up and transferring them for deportation.
Thomas is confident that having to spend several months in Maricopa County jail will send a deterrent message. Having a felony on their record will prohibit an illegal immigrant from being able to obtain U.S. citizenship in the future. Arpaio vowed to continue arresting illegal immigrants, "I'm gonna keep locking them up…we are being proactive, my posse is out there looking for them." The Maricopa County jail has a reputation as a miserable place to do time, because of its Tent City facilities located in the desert, its green bologna and water, and other tough restrictions. Inmates who have done time in both the jail and the state's Department of Corrections have learned to ask the judge to allow them to serve their time in prison instead of jail. Arpaio sent a message to anyone contemplating illegally crossing the border, "You can't work cutting palm trees if you're in jail…you have to follow the law."
Arpaio says his is the only law enforcement agency arresting illegal immigrants under the human smuggling statute. He hopes that this decision will encourage other law enforcement to enforce the law. "I'm tired of city police complaining about the cost of arresting illegal immigrants. That complaint is garbage. It's a felony. The county picks up the tab for felonies, the city only pays for misdemeanor arrests." Thomas has also noted that he is the only county attorney in the nation prosecuting illegal immigrants for human smuggling. Working together, Thomas and Arpaio have become the toughest law enforcement team in the nation fighting illegal immigration. Although illegal immigration still remains a nationwide problem, the duo has done what they can locally, making it less Arizona's problem.
Arizona's anti-smuggling law is A.R.S. 13-2319 , and conspiracy law is A.R.S. 13-1003.
Read the Maricopa County Attorney's Office press release.
What the hell is wrong with this country??? Are the Mexicans really who we need to worry about?? What was the last terrorist act the Mexicans did while in the United States? Yes, they come here illegally. But, they come here for a better life. They come here and work to provide for their families. I agree they need to pay taxes and come here legally. However, I believe that we need to be spending OUR tax dollars to catch the real criminals. The ones responsible for 9/11.The ones who are the real terrorist!!!!
Jenn
What is wrong with those people who do not recognise an invasion with the intent to destroy our country! These are not harmless law abiding people who just want to better themselves and our country! These are illegal alien invaders who wish to and with the help of the apathetic uninformed and the power at any price political cowards, will succeed in tearing the U. S. down to the level of the lowest third world nation!
What in the hell is wrong with Jenn? Your out of touch with reality.
Do you realize $10,000 Dollars is equal to 110,000 Pesos in Mexico. Now do you feel exploited? They are getting wealthy at our expense. I hope you can add that up. They can work here a few months and live quite well in Mexico. Do you realize that an estimated 12 million illegal aliens are in the US and 12 million Americans are unemployed?
I think Jenn needs to spend a few nights in Laredo and a day or to in El Paso, which the population is 51% illegal alien by the way. She has no clue. Nice that you are living sheltered in middle America. Try living next to a house full of illegal aliens some time Jenn. Drinking, loud music, beat up unregistered cars, urinating in the back yard, babies running around without clothes on, incessant barking dogs and more often than not, pit bulls… Secondly, you are spending your tax dollars on illegal aliens. Poor little guys that can’t pay for the birth of their babies. How many were born in the North Texas county hospitals, over 10,000 this year. Who paid that bill? To the tune of $15,000 a anchor baby. How many years of taxes will the illegal alien have to pay to make up for that debt to society? Oh, but wait baby 3,4,5,6… They don’t even earn that in a year, right? I’m so done with the bleeding hearts. These people did this to themselves and I’m sick of paying for it. They can all get out of my country yesterday. They are criminals the moment they cross the border and they continue to break laws and commit crimes to live here. ID Theft, Illegal Work, passing fraudulent documents like SS Cards and on and on and on. GET REAL JENN. Have you seen what they have done to Los Angeles? It has turned a once beautiful city into a 3rd World Cesspool. Can you not see how it now looks like Tijuana? Jenn, you need to get real! Save AMERICA! Kick out the Illegal Aliens!! Jenn, I think Cindy Sheehan needs a friend and I think you are compatible.