PHOENIX -- The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says it plans to train its entire force of 881 deputies in enforcing federal immigration law.
The announcement comes about four months after the federal government stripped 100 deputies in the office of their power to make federal immigration arrests.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says the federal government's rebuke won't prevent his deputies from cracking down on illegal immigration and that federal law gives local police agencies the power to enforce federal immigration law without getting approvals from Washington.
If that weren't controversial enough, the Sheriff is now being asked to answer questions about the man he hired to train the deputies on immigration law.
Kris Kobach is an immigration attorney who's a recognized name on a national stage because of some of the high profile immigration policy points he's helped litigate.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office said Kobach played a role in crafting Arizona's Employer Sanctions law.
He's also served as the counsel to former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft for two years.
Kobach flaunts his conservative values with candor on the campaign website he created for his current bid to be Secretary of State for Kansas.
On the website it reads, "Kris Kobach, 43, is a Professor of Law and lawyer who litigates against the ACLU in courts across the country. Kobach defends cities and states that are trying to reduce illegal immigration. He is a regular guest on The O'Reilly Factor (FOX News Channel) and Lou Dobbs Tonight (CNN)."
Arpaio said he's tapping into Kobach's experience to help train all his deputies in immigration law.
The Sheriff said Kobach will be in town for a couple of days crafting a video presentation that will begin in two weeks. He expects all deputies to complete the training in six months.
Arpaio said he was also looking to Kobach for his opinion on whether local law enforcement can enforce federal law.
The Anti-Defamation League of Arizona denounced the decision to hire Kobach primarily because of his affliation with the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which Regional Director Bill Straus described as, "the largest anti-immigration group in the country."
"We find it absolutely outrageous that Sheriff Arpaio has chosen an individual with an obvious bias, who works on behalf of an anti-immigrant group to conduct training on immigration law and ethnic profiling," said Straus. "This shows that he is not serious about dealing with the concerns that have been raised about his tactics and treatment of immigrants."
Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for FAIR, did not agree with that definition of their organization.
"That's a tactic that is used by people who support illegal immigration. We look at how immigration policy affects the American people," Mehlman explained.
Supported by more than 200,000 members, Mehlman said their main focus is on supporting policy that tackles the societal problems associated with illegal immigration.
He said, for example, that Kobach has worked on developing legislation that would deny illegal immigrants access to in-state tuition.
Mehlman said they are not anti-immigration but rather anti-illegal immigration.
To this Straus replied, "That's what all these groups say. They all say they are anti-illegal immigration but when they talk about the 'brown surge' coming across the border they don't specify illegal immigration."
Straus said if Arpaio is going to train his deputies to enforce immigration law he doesn't see why he couldn't have picked someone that didn't have such a strong and obvious bias.
The Anti-Defamation League doesn't support local police agencies enforcing any federal law.
Critics say officers racially profile Latinos in the patrols.
"Sheriff Arpaio is a demagogue, and his use of immigration as a pretext to gain notoriety is old news," said Chris Newman, Legal Director for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. "Despite all of his bluster and ability to attract media attention, we are hopeful...the federal government will swiftly intervene to bring justice to the people of Maricopa County."
Arpaio repeatedly denied the racial profiling allegations.
