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Sheriff Joe: I'll Arrest Immigration Protesters

Dressed up to depict Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Jorge Mendez joins dozens to protest the SB1070 Arizona immigration law in front of U.S. District Court. (AP)
Associated Press/AP Online via YellowBrix
July 28, 2010
WASHINGTON – The sheriff of the most populous county in Arizona says he’s “not going to put up with any civil disobedience” when the state’s new immigration law takes effect.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says that if protesters want to block his jail, he’ll put them in it.
The Arizona law, which takes effect Thursday, requires officers enforcing other laws to check a person’s immigration status if they suspect the person is in the country illegally.
Arpaio told ABC’s “Good Morning America” he doesn’t know “what the big hype is.”
He says it’s “a crime to be here illegally and everyone should enforce” the law.