abc15.com
ARIZONA -- Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio launches another immigration sweep in the Valley on Friday.
Business owners have complained about rising crime connected with undocumented immigrants in the area.
Opposing groups are on guard and ready to protest.
Those groups met with reporters on Wednesday with a message for Arpaio saying, "We'll be watching."
Lydia Guzman believes that Arpaio is breaking the law. "He is not the hero that he talks himself up to be."
Late last year, Arpaio reacted to email he says he received from a Central Phoenix business.
In the email, a business owner complained about the day laborers around 32nd Street and Thomas.
The owner claims the day laborers were causing problems and harassing customers.
The sheriff's office increased patrols in the area and over a period of several weeks, arrested more than 100 people and 94 of them were undocumented immigrants.
Now the sheriff is at it again, in a similar scenario with businesses not only in the central part of the Valley, but also to the north.
Opposing groups are outraged. "He's a villain, he's a criminal, and he's violating the law."
"They call me a racist, they call me KKK...they call me a Nazi," says Arpaio. "That's not going to deter me from doing my job. It's very simple. I will continue to enforce the immigration laws."
Arpaio continued to say that 140 of his deputies are trained in federal immigration laws.
However, close to 200 deputies set up the command post at 32nd street and Thomas, along with jail wagons, to launch the event.
Posted by tyne at March 25, 2008