Tale of Two Joes: Arpaio Meets With Biden
Maricopa County (Ariz.) Sheriff Joe Arpaio tweeted this morning that he’d met with Vice President Joe Biden, who was in Phoenix fundraising for Democratic members of Congress who could face tough Republican challengers in 2010. Biden was also touting the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Curiously, the meeting was not listed on the vice president’s schedule. But Arpaio told the Phoenix Business Journal that he’d said to Biden in their meeting that he needs more deputies and resources for his law enforcement unit.
Arpaio’s law enforcement actions, however, have not always gone over well with the Obama administration. The Arizona sheriff is under official investigation for civil rights violations, and just recently, the Department of Homeland Security revoked some of his powers to enforce federal immigration laws under the 287(g) program.
Arpaio has insisted that he has all the powers he needs to arrest illegal immigrants anyway, and vowed not to let up on his much-publicized efforts to crack down on them.
