Paul Penzone is wrong about ICE’s role in our county jails
In 2013, federal Judge G. Murray Snow instituted the Community Advisory Board to work with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office on courtordered reforms, which include rebuilding community trust.
One of the primary values guiding our work is to honor the voices of the people who were most impacted during former Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s era.
Paul Penzone is now sheriff, and we remain committed to our charge and values. We disagree with him on some of his efforts as he highlighted in a recent Arizona Republic op-ed (“Where we’re taking the Sheriff’s Department after Joe Arpaio”).
Here are our disagreements, point by point:
“Our job in MCSO is neither to do the work of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department, nor is it to stand in their way.”
This statement makes sense at face value. It works for most stakeholders. This position may also be sufficiently neutral to keep MCSO off the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors’ budgetcutting radar.
One big problem for MCSO in trying to defend this position is the ICE raids taking place in immigrant communities throughout the country. In Maricopa County, many immigrant families still see the sheriff’s department as an extension of ICE.
If MCSO did not have the 24-year history of Arpaio, and we did not have a president hell bent on a mass deportation force, Sheriff Penzone might be able to take middle-of-the-road position in his “new immigration approach.”
“We are not an immigration force ... ICE is given space and opportunity to interview every person arrested and booked in our jail ‘regardless of their race or background.’ “
To the communities impacted by decades of MCSO malpractice, Penzone’s answer at best describes the continuation of a friendly relationship with ICE. At worst, the sheriff inadvertently outlines a formula for racial profiling inside MCSO jails.
We are left to wonder how detainees are selected for an “opportunity” to be interviewed by ICE? The other question that comes to mind is how are these “interview opportunities” documented and reported?
“Upon settlement of their local criminal charges, ICE decides if ICE should take these people into custody and deliver them to the federal immigration court system.”
While this may be a routine operating procedure in MCSO jails, the most impacted community members see his booking process as an extension of the current mass deportation/private detention pipeline being driven by national anti-immigrant platforms.
MCSO’s partnership with ICE is contributing to life-altering encounters with law enforcement for too many of our families. It is highly offensive to label community members’ stance on the MCSO/ICE partnership simply as a political position.
“I know this approach disappoints a small percentage on either end of the spectrum.”
The sheriff is giving legitimacy to the notion that widely held perceptions in immigrant communities are fringe ideas. If we are not respectful of the beliefs and voices of the most impacted community members, we communicate to them that their ideas are less important than those of other residents.
The victims of Joe Arpaio’s racial profiling are not simply “disappointed” by Penzone’s approach. Their reactions to the MCSO/ICE partnership are significantly more intense.
At a recent community meeting attended by MCSO staffers, residents used the words “afraid,” “heartbreaking” and “horrifying” to describe the relationship with MCSO.
Prior to issuing his written order, Judge Snow made it clear in court that he wants to hear the voices of the people most impacted by the Arpaio era.
As an advisory board, we are committed to bringing these voices to Judge Snow through the monitoring team and the ACLU of Arizona.
We also commit to more candid dialogue with MCSO leadership and staff. Our focus is not to simply improve MCSO. Our commitment is to reform the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
Raul Piña is a community advisory board member in Melendrez vs. Penzone. Contact him at raulpina14@ gmail.com. Twitter: @hopeleaders.