Arizona to create ‘tent city’ for illegal immigrants
By admin at 6 February, 2009, 3:17 pm
Sheriff Joe Arpaio, best known for creating a “tent city” for Arizona inmates and forcing hardened criminals to wear pink underwear, announced yesterday that he would be creating a segregated area of tent city for illegal immigrants.
Arpaio’s plan would move 200 inmates from the Durango Jail in Maricopa County, Arizona to the nearby tent city. The sheriff said the segregation is an attempt to cut costs, but did not go into detail of how it would do so.
Critics say the plan is nothing more than a publicity stunt, since the 200 prisoners will be taken to tent city in front of numerous television cameras today, and does nothing to save money.
“That’s one of the most inhumane things I’ve ever heard,” said Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox. “He’s trying to justify this as a ‘budget savings,’ and I’m just appalled. It’s just another publicity stunt, and he doesn’t outline how he’ll save costs.”
Arpaio told the Arizona Republic that once the segregated prisoners serve out their sentences they will not be released from jail, but will instead be deported.
During the fiscal year 2008, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more than 1,700 gang members with illegal immigration status, including almost 40 from the Phoenix, Arizona area.
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