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December 2, 2007 - 3:21AM
Deputies arrest illegal immigrants during rally
David Biscobing, Tribune
Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies arrested eight illegal immigrants on Saturday during a protest outside a Phoenix furniture store embroiled in a heated immigration debate.
Immigration activists have gathered on Saturdays for the past six weeks outside Pruitt’s furniture store to challenge Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s enforcement of immigration laws. Saturday was the first time deputies made arrests during the rallies. The day laborers were arrested on suspicion of violating immigration laws.
Deputies had arrested 24 illegal immigrants in the area before Saturday, but those arrests were not made during protests.
“I thought it was time to do something more about it,” Arpaio said Saturday night. “The Pruitt’s situation is getting out of hand. They are demonstrating every week and destroying this business. I don’t think that’s fair.”
Demonstrators began protesting at the store near Thomas Road and 34th Street in late October, when the store hired sheriff’s deputies to keep day laborers away from the property.
The store asked the sheriff’s office to help because they felt the presence of day laborers was hurting their business.
More than 100 protesters have shown up for the rallies, including officials from the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.
The union’s legal director, Daniel Pochoda, was arrested by deputies Nov. 5 after he was asked to attend a rally to observe the interaction between protesters and deputies.
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