Sheriff Joe Arpaio Our Man in Phoenix

Our man in Phoenix, Sheriff Joe Arpaio is definitely the patriot of the week if not the year. Every so often a man rises to face the enemy, not the enemy at the gates, but the enemy from within and this great patriot is Sheriff Joe. He is challenging the might of the federal government which is attemping to reign him in, to stop him from doing his constitutional duty. He is in effect telling Janet Napolitano, Eric Holder and their lord and master, Barack Himself Obama, to take a hike. I wish I could shake the man's hand and personally tell him how much I respect and admire his courage. This guy is truly a man among men. When lesser men all across the country are folding their hands when facing the bluff of "Himself" this man is still standing. Standing for American, standing for the law, standing for the principals of the founders. So I say, three cheers for Sheriff Joe.
This SURPRISE, Arizona — An Arizona sheriff known for cracking down on illegal immigrants launched a sweep in Phoenix on Friday, a half day after officials in Washington limited his powers to make federal immigration arrests.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose sweeps have led to allegations of racial profiling, said the rebuff from Washington won't stop him. He said he can still arrest immigrants under a state smuggling law and a federal law that gives all local police agencies more limited power to detain suspected illegal immigrants.

"It doesn't bother me, because we are going to do the same thing," said Arpaio, whose deputies had arrested 16 people by Friday evening on unspecified charges. "I am the elected sheriff. I don't take orders from the federal government."

The officers were participating in a federal program that grants a limited number of local police departments special powers to make immigration arrests and speed up deportation. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stripped Arpaio of his power to let 100 deputies make federal immigration arrests, but renewed another agreement that allows 60 jail officers to determine the immigration status of people in jail.

The sheriff's sweeps in some heavily Latino areas of metro Phoenix have drawn criticism that Arpaio's deputies racially profile people. Arpaio said people pulled over in the sweeps were approached because deputies had probable cause to believe they had committed crimes and that it was only afterward that deputies found many of them were illegal immigrants.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Arpaio's office over allegations of discrimination and unconstitutional searches and seizures.

"He is doing this to thumb his nose at the Obama administration," said Lydia Guzman, president of the Hispanic civil rights group Somos America. read more from FOX News