In a game of good cop/bad cop Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio would undoubtedly fit the role of “bad cop.” His persona is that of a no nonsense officer with little respect for lawbreakers that includes a very tough anti-immigrant stance.Arpaio’s views have been loved by some and loathed by others yet the latest controversy involves the “Bay Islands Sister Agency Project for Justice and Service”.
Arizonan senator Bob Burns wants to look into the spending of $30,000 for the project which was used to send state employees to Honduras. Burns has raised doubts over RICO funds that paid for the project and were said to be used to combat violence by gangs such as MS-13. However, some officials don’t believe Arizona is under serious threat from MS-13:
“A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement says Honduras does not play a significant role when it comes to organized crime in Arizona. “Obviously there are Hondurans involved in criminal enterprises here in the state of Arizona. But when you look at human smuggling and narcotics, that’s all going to be driven mostly by Mexican citizens. They are more familiar with the border area. They have the infrastructure here that supports those criminal activities,” said Vincent Picard, ICE Spokesperson.
Arpaio fully backed the program though yesterday he decided to suspend it due to the county’s “budget crunch”.
Sources- Wikipedia, Arizona Republic, azcentral.com, KTAR, CNN
Image- Village Voice
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