Phoenix Copwatch Media
Phoenix Copwatch Calls for Protest Against Sheriff Joe's and Andrew Thomas's Anti-Immigrant Crusade
June 8, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 8, 2006
Email: phoenix_copwatch@yahoo.com
PHOENIX COPWATCH CALLS FOR PROTEST AGAINST SHERIFF JOE'S AND ANDREW THOMAS'S ANTI-IMMIGRANT CRUSADE
Phoenix Copwatch is holding a march and rally on
Friday, June 16 to protest the misuse of local law
enforcement and civilian volunteers in the
anti-immigrant crusade of County Attorney Andrew
Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The march will begin at
the Sheriff’s Office, 100 W. Washington St. in Phoenix
at 8:30 am. It will conclude at Andrew Thomas’s
office, 301 W. Jefferson at 10 am. A member of
Copwatch will be available at that time for
interviews.
With the full support of County Attorney Andrew Thomas, Sheriff Arpaio has locked up hundreds of suspected undocumented immigrants for the fabricated “crime” of conspiring to smuggle themselves into the country. They say that they are enforcing Arizona’s new anti-smuggling law, but even the co-sponsors of the bill say that Thomas and Arpaio are misinterpreting this law and overstepping their authority.
Reasonable law enforcement agencies around the country, including the LAPD and Phoenix PD, understand that local police have no business enforcing immigration laws – by definition, a federal issue. Local enforcement of immigration will only lead to a chilling effect among immigrant communities, making people less likely to report crimes or ask for help from the police. Do we really want to keep a woman from calling the cops on her abusive husband because she’s afraid she will be deported?
Now Sheriff Joe is sending armed civilian volunteers out into the desert and the streets of Phoenix to hunt down suspected migrants. Phoenix Copwatch is very concerned that this move will only inflame an already volatile situation and will inevitably lead to racial profiling. “I’m horrified at the thought of over-zealous armed civilians in Sheriff Joe’s posse hunting brown-skinned immigrants,” says Copwatch member Alia Souissi.
At the protest, we will present the following demands:
1. That Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Arpaio stop misinterpreting the anti-smuggling law to arrest and prosecute suspected undocumented migrants as smuggling“conspirators”
2. That all persons arrested under this law be immediately released from custody
3. That Sheriff Joe stop using armed civilian volunteers to hunt for migrants
Phoenix Copwatch is a civilian group formed to combat
abuse by the police in our community. We use a variety
of means to fight police abuse including community
patrols, videotaping, and community education.
Copwatch is completely independent from the police,
all other law enforcement agencies, the government,
and all political parties. We are always available for
comment on stories involving police use of force and
misuse of authority. More information about Phoenix
Copwatch can be found at our website:
www.phoenixcopwatch.org
What: Protest against Sheriff Joe and Andrew Thomas
Where: March from 100 W. Washington St. to 301 W. Jefferson St., Phoenix
When: 8:30 am to 10:30 am, Friday, June 16, 2006
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