No-nonsense Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio says he has fired off an urgent letter to the Department of Homeland Security, demanding to know why so many of the criminals he locks up are repeat-offender illegal immigrants.
"I want an explanation and investigation as to why 3,800 of the people in my jails that are charged with state and local crimes are here illegally,'' Arpaio told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
"We turn them over to ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and they keep coming back over and over again."
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"How come they're not deported, or if they are, why do they keep coming back across the border?'' said Arpaio, whose tenacious approach to law enforcement in Arizona's Maricopa County has earned him the name "America's toughest sheriff.''
Arpaio believes President Barack Obama has allowed lax enforcement at U.S. borders — which, in recent weeks, are being deluged by young people — to spur Congress into action on immigration reform.
"I predicted he's doing this to invoke his executive order using this as a vehicle and also try to stimulate Congress to do something. That's why he's doing this,'' Arpaio said.
"They do some stupid things at the White House, but I think this was calculated.''
He believes the way to take hold of the nation's mushrooming border issues is to deploy troops.
"When I was head of the DEA in Mexico City, we … had agents working undercover, worked alongside the Mexican army — the Federales,'' Arpaio said.
"So why can't we just put some resources like border patrol or military across the border and work with their army and their law enforcement and clean the mess up?
"It's only common sense. [But] you know and I know, that's never going to happen between the two presidents in Mexico and the U.S.''
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