» andrew thomas

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has attracted national attention for his decision to move undocumented immigrants from the indoor facilities at a Maricopa County jail to Tent City. And segregate them from the rest of the population of Tent City.

Characteristically, Arpaio didn’t simply move the inmates. He alerted the media which appeared in force including television station helicopters. As disconcerting as the decision to segregate the inmates was the show Arpaio made of the move. As reported by Alternet.org, the inmates were accompanied by at least 50 MCSO deputies wearing body armor and combat fatigues and armed with shotguns and automatic rifles. They were also accompanied by at least two canine units. A Sheriff’s Department helicopter was overhead.

Almost all of those being marched to the newly segregated tents were Hispanic and there were all wearing black and white striped prison uniforms with the word unsentenced on the front of their shirts. It’s important to remember that many of these men have yet to be convicted of anything. Others have but are still awaiting trial for sentencing.

Since last weeks ‘march’, several Maricopa County officials have spoken out against the decision. Sheriff Arpaio’s close political ally County Attorney Andrew Thomas has publicly stated that he opposes segregating inmates based upon race or ethnicity.

Local journalists are drawing comparisons between Thomas’s suit against the court system’s language based DUI courts and his opposition to jail segregation. If Thomas will sue Maricopa County courts over race-based policies, why isn’t he bringing a suit against Arpaio? But Thomas is probably more concerned of the political fallout of an inmate suing the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office and winning, which would force Arpaio do dismantle the program. Several years ago the California Supreme Court rejected California state prison race-based segregation. The California penal system was presumably segregating prisoners according to gang affiliations in order to curb violence. Arpaio is segregating prisoners that have violated federal immigration laws.

Maricopa County supervisors concerned with racial implications of Arpaio’s project are also worried about the potential legal and financial fallout of segregation policies. County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox has stated she will seek a federal investigation of the matter.

Is it dangerous to foment this type of controversy in border states at this time? The State Department issued a travel advisory for Americans visiting Mexico last year. That may sound quaint in the near future considering the Pentagon has recently concluded that the entire county is at risk of becoming a failed and is in danger of collapse. And that would call for a complete militarization of the US/Mexico border. And all of this comes at at time when the US Army War College is releasing reports calling for the Pentagon to work with local Arizona officials to prepare for mass civil unrest and/or riots in case of a complete economic collapse in the United States.

Alarmist? You tell me.