The Department of Justice just can't help itself. Yesterday after the most important provision, or what Arizona Governor Jan Brewer called the "heart" of SB 1070 was unanimously upheld, which allows local law enforcement to inquire about legal status, the feds set up a hotline in the state for people to report "potential" civil rights violations.
1-855-353-1010
and online
SB1070(at)usdoj.gov
And yes, the hotline was set up by the same Civil Rights Division within the Justice Department that refused to prosecute New Black Panther Party members for intimidating voters outside of a Philadelphia polling place in 2008. Also, according to the Washington Times, the Obama administration has ended the partnership between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the agency has been instructed not to return calls from local law enforcement regarding illegal immigration.
The Obama administration said Monday it is suspending existing agreements with Arizona police over enforcement of federal immigration laws, and said it has issued a directive telling federal authorities to decline many of the calls reporting illegal immigrants that the Homeland Security Department may get from Arizona police.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio isn't buying it.
"I'm not stopping anything. I'm going to continue to enforce those state laws regardless of what the federal government is trying to put pressure on me to satisfy all these activists, which by the way are in front of my building right now."
"Three and half years they've been in front of my building. So, I'm not going to bend to the federal government, especially when we still have state laws to enforce."
Neither is Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever.