Phoenix residents to protest abuse of immigrants
Bishop Minerva Carcaño, an outspoken champion for comprehensive
immigration reform, speaks at a Feb. 11 press conference held in the
U.S. Capitol in Washington. A UMNS file photo by Kathy L. Gilbert.
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
Feb. 24, 2009
“No public servant should ever be allowed to
promote racism,” declared United Methodist Bishop Minerva Carcaño as
she announced plans to join in a Feb. 28 solidarity march against
alleged abuses of power by Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
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Sheriff Joe Arpaio
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Arpaio recently chained and dressed detained immigrants in jail stripes
and marched them through the streets of Phoenix, Ariz. to a tent
facility in the desert, which was surrounded by an electric fence.
The parading of detained immigrants through
the streets was a violation of their human and civil rights, said
Carcaño, United Methodist leader in the Phoenix area.
She will join thousands of proponents of
immigration reform as they march four miles through the streets of
Phoenix, making stops at the immigration and customs building and the
sheriff’s office.
Several groups involved in the immigration
reform debate are organizing the march, according to Chris Fleishchman,
one of the Phoenix volunteers. “Religious leaders will be on the front
line to protest against the human rights violations by Sheriff Arpaio,”
he said.
Zack de la Rocha, lead singer for Rage Against the Machine is also expected to participate, he added.
Racial profiling
“Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been allowed to abuse
the power of the public office he holds for long enough,” Carcaño said.
“As sheriff of Maricopa County, Joe Arpaio has practiced racial
profiling. He has fomented racism in our neighborhoods and communities
through billboards that invite persons to turn in the neighbors they
suspect may be undocumented.
“If this were not vile enough, he has also had
his deputies dressed in ski masks stopping and arresting mothers at
night in front of their horrified small children for minor traffic
infractions because they were Hispanic and thought to be
undocumented. Enough is enough!”
Carcaño has been an outspoken champion for
comprehensive immigration reform. On Feb. 11, she was among the
religious leaders speaking in Washington to announce a campaign by
Interfaith Immigration Coalition to reform immigration laws in 2009.
Places of worship held prayer vigils during the Feb. 13-22
Congressional break.
The campaign, “Prayer, Renewal and Action on
Immigration,” is designed to engage people of faith on the immigration
reform debate. At the Washington press conference, Carcaño spoke out
about Arpaio’s actions in her home state of Arizona.
Top priority
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has been named
to head the federal government’s immigration enforcement operations. As
Homeland Security secretary, she had made it clear that immigration
enforcement is among her top priorities.
Carcaño said she was pleased at Napolitano’s
action to cut Arapio’s funding “because he was failing at the work he
had been elected to do.”
The bishop said it is time to call upon
Napolitano “to abolish immigration enforcement measures, including
287g, which allow local police to enforce federal civil immigration law.
“Such an abolishment of locally enforced
immigration law should begin with Sheriff Joe Arpaio before he becomes
an embarrassment not only for the state of Arizona, but for this entire
country. Enough is enough.”
*Gilbert is a news writer for United Methodist News Service in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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Dems urge review of Arpaio's acts
Resources
Desert Southwest Annual Conference
Interfaith Immigration Coalition
Board of Church and Society
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office | 
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