News updates are sent daily. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Sharpton: Arpaio a blight on Ariz.'s civil rights
With one exception - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio - Arizona addresses civil rights as well as any other state, the Rev. Al Sharpton said Friday.
"I think when the sheriff is out of town, Arizona is about as equal as everyone else when it comes to civil rights," Sharpton said at a civil rights forum in Phoenix.
Arpaio's crime-suppression sweeps, during which his officers arrest illegal immigrants, have drawn protests from minority groups and some political leaders. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently removed the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office's authority to enforce federal immigration laws other than in jails, but Arpaio has argued that he still has authority to conduct the sweeps.
Sharpton said Arpaio is out of line.
"It is one thing for the sheriff to have a position, but it is another thing for him to supersede where the government and others on a federal level have deemed proper and appropriate," Sharpton said.
Sharpton, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, joined state Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, and ASU Professor Raul Yzaguirre, a longtime civil rights advocate, at a forum organized by ASU's Center of Community Development and Civil Rights.
Please add your comments, but follow these guidelines to keep this a safe, credible place for discussing the news: