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We knew this was coming. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, he of 'Tent City' and 'Pink Underwear' fame, the sole American Sheriff left on the continent with a no-nonsense approach to crime, incarceration and enforcement, has run afoul of Hispanics and...Democrats.

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon (Democrat) (who was, not surprisingly, born in Chicago), State Democrat Representative Ben Miranda (a member of the Latino Caucus) and his freakin' brother, State Democratic Senator Richard Miranda, are sending letters and caucusing with heartfelt protestations to Washington, hoping for federal intervention. A letter speeds to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, seeking relief from heartless Sheriff Joe. From AZCentral...

Showing a unified front, Latino state lawmakers said Thursday they are backing Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon's call for a federal probe into Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's recent crime sweeps in Hispanic neighborhoods.

Lawmakers said the sheriff's tactics are tantamount to racial profiling and reflect poorly on all Arizonans, regardless of their ethnic heritage.

“When one group is under attack like this, when one group is having their civil rights violated, I believe it imperils all of us, everyone across this state and across this country,” said Rep. Linda Lopez, D-Tucson, who joined six other members of the Arizona Legislative Latino Caucus at a Capitol news conference.

“That is not what this country is about. We're not about targeting individuals because of the color of their skin, their religion or their gender,” she added. “This has to be put a stop to, and I believe an investigation is fully warranted.”

Here we go again. Our Criminal Justice system is forced to go after crime and criminals wearing blinders, oblivious to the facts. We screen grannies in our airports so as not to offend possible terrorists (who, amazingly enough, are men between the ages of 17-40 and of middle eastern descent). We care less about actually doing the job of reducing crime and more about pampering the blocs of whiny special interests. Let's not possibly offend someone's civil rights.

The 'raids' in question are not brownshirts stopping everyone and threating arrest, but actual traffic and crime -prevention stops based on witnessed violations. 30 illegal immigrants were arrested just this week in Wickenburg, a suburb of Phoenix. And deported.

Earlier, a Hispanic US citizen was stopped for speeding. This guy was trying to become a 'politically correct martyr', much like those Praying Flying Imams who wanted to challenge security before boarding a plane last year by acting like, well, terrorists. This unnamed guy is playing his sad-song violin well, and has these affronted politicians using his breast-beating for their own political ends. But, he may have overplayed his hand...

"..the man was “belligerent” and refused to show identification upon being stopped for a traffic violation. Only after he was arrested and turned over to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents was it discovered he was a citizen, said Brian Sands, the sheriff's chief of enforcement.

“He was so uncooperative through all stages of the booking process, he was trying to get into a position where we might deport him,” Sands said.

Sheriff Joe's response to this obviously politically-motivated Political Correctness attack...

“I am not concerned about (the caucus) going to Washington. I have nothing to fear and will continue to do crime suppression. I will continue to lock up illegals,” said Arpaio, who denied that he targets Hispanic communities. “I will not be intimated by minority groups.” [emphasis mine]

These politically correct whine-bots face a wildly popular figure in Sheriff Joe. Joe Arpaio may be the only elected sheriff who has the cajones to face off against politically motivated whiny Democrats.