Washington, DC – The Department of Homeland Security renegotiated 287(g) agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies that allow them to enforce federal immigration law under certain conditions. Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County has said he plans to enforce federal civil immigration law whether he has a 287(g) agreement with DHS or not. The following is a statement from Rich Stolz, Campaign Manager for the Reform Immigration FOR America campaign, a coalition of organizations and individuals committed to passing federal comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s bravado and abuse of power will not be brought under control until our immigration system is reformed. Regardless of what arrangement he has or doesn’t have with federal authorities, he is apparently addicted to the attention that he can generate by systematically violating the civil rights of citizens and non-citizens in his jurisdiction.

The revised DHS regulations do not begin to address the conduct that Arpaio and other bad actors have carried out under the 287(g) program. We hope ongoing criminal and civil rights investigations into the Sheriff bear fruit, but the people who live and work in Maricopa County who happen to look or sound foreign will continue to suffer from his largesse.

Reestablishing legality in our immigration system will take the wind out of the sails of bullies like Arpaio who like the current immigration mess just fine. Just as Arpaio is able to exploit undocumented immigrants for publicity, employers are able to exploit them – and all other workers – because they lack legal status and have no way of getting it. The solution is simple and absolutely critical to healing our nation and moving us forward: Fixing the immigration system so that we remove the fear families face because of deportation, the horrors of dangerous desert crossings because no visas are available, and the shame of living in the shadows because we have no way for people to get legal.