Table Of ContentSHERIFF_ FM_pI-X:sheriff 2/27/08 3:28 PM Page i
JOE’S LAW
SHERIFF_ FM_pI-X:sheriff 2/27/08 3:28 PM Page ii
This page intentionally left blank
SHERIFF_ FM_pI-X:sheriff 2/27/08 3:28 PM Page iii
JOE’S LAW
America’s Toughest Sheriff
Takes on Illegal Immigration, Drugs, and
Everything Else That Threatens America
SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO
AND
LEN SHERMAN
AMERICAN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
NEW YORK ATLANTA BRUSSELS CHICAGO MEXICO CITY SAN FRANCISCO
SHANGHAI TOKYO TORONTO WASHINGTON, D.C.
SHERIFF_ FM_pI-X:sheriff 2/27/08 3:28 PM Page iv
SpecialdiscountsonbulkquantitiesofAMACOMbooksareavailabletocor-
porations,professionalassociations,andotherorganizations.Fordetails,con-
tactSpecialSalesDepartment,AMACOM,adivisionofAmericanManagement
Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. Tel: 212-903-8316. Fax:
212-903-8083.
E-mail:[email protected]
Website:www.amacombooks.org/go/specialsales
ToviewallAMACOMtitlesgoto:www.amacombooks.org
Thispublicationisdesignedtoprovideaccurateandauthoritativeinformationin
regardtothesubjectmattercovered.Itissoldwiththeunderstandingthatthepub-
lisherisnotengagedinrenderinglegal,accounting,orotherprofessionalservice.
Iflegaladviceorotherexpertassistanceisrequired,theservicesofacompetentpro-
fessionalpersonshouldbesought.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Arpaio,Joe,1932-
Joe’s law : America’s toughest sheriff takes on illegal immigration, drugs, and
everythingelsethatthreatensAmerica/JoeArpaioandLenSherman.
p.cm.
Includesindex.
ISBN-13:978-0-8144-0199-6
ISBN-10:0-8144-0199-6
1. Arpaio, Joe, 1932– 2. Sheriffs—Arizona—Maricopa County—Biography. 3.
Police—United States—Biography. 4.Drug enforcement agents—United States—
Biography. 5. Corrections—Arizona—Maricopa County. 6.Prisons—Arizona—
Maricopa County. 7. Law enforcement—Arizona—Maricopa County. 8. Illegal
aliens—UnitedStates.9.Drugabuse—UnitedStates.I.Sherman,Len,1956–II.Title.
HV7911.A77A32008
363.2092—dc22
[B]
2008007007
©2008JoeArpaioandLenSherman.
Allrightsreserved.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
Thispublicationmaynotbereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmit-
tedinwholeorinpart,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,pho-
tocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of
AMACOM,adivisionofAmericanManagementAssociation,1601Broadway,New
York,NY 10019.
Printingnumber
10987654321
SHERIFF_ FM_pI-X_rev:sheriff 3/20/08 11:12 AM Page v
CONTENTS
Introduction VII
1
TheBottomLine 1
2
IllegalImmigration 23
3
MoreWaystoTakeOnImmigration,
fromthePossetoICE 41
4
FromImmigrationtoDrugs 69
5
ThinkingOutsidetheBox 87
6
ThePosse 111
7
ALifetimeinLawEnforcement 131
SHERIFF_ FM_pI-X:sheriff 2/27/08 3:28 PM Page vi
8
Turkey 151
9
BackHome 171
10
MediaMatters 203
11
PoliticsasUsual 227
epilogue
TheMoreThingsStaytheSame,
theMoreTheyBetterChange 239
Index 257
SHERIFF_ FM_pI-X:sheriff 2/27/08 3:28 PM Page vii
INTRODUCTION
We quickly tire of our heroes, probably because they’re not really
heroesatall.Theyappear,theyglitter,theyareeverywhere,andthen
we learn the truth that they are nothing but false fronts, Potemkin
villages, hollow beings constructed for media absorption and public
consumption out of slogans and hype and pictures, saying the cor-
rectthings,supportingtheacceptedideas,doingnothingintheend
that benefits anyone but themselves and their backers. Politicians,
corporate heads, actors, athletes, celebrities of every miscreant vari-
ety—they’re all part of the same media world we inhabit—and
they’vealldisappointedussomanytimesthatpollafterpolldemon-
strates that we no longer trust any of our leading institutions.
And so to Joe Arpaio.
For more than twelve years, I’ve seen them come and go. I’ve
watched the reporters find their way to Phoenix for the big inter-
view, for their moment in the sun, and as we all know, the sun here
cangetprettyhot.Theysweatthroughtheirtourofthetents,they
go out on patrol with the posse, they stare at the pink underwear,
the chain gangs, the public adulation. And they act like Columbus
discovering America, like they’ve found something their audience
will not believe, and they go home and do their story, which is the
same story, over and over, declaring, and sometimes decrying, the
wonderofSheriffJoe,asheisknownfarandwide,andtheMaricopa
County Sheriff’s Office.
SHERIFF_ FM_pI-X:sheriff 2/27/08 3:28 PM Page viii
viii INTRODUCTION
But of course they don’t stay long enough to really understand
what’sgoingon,butthat’sthenatureofthemodernmedia—hitand
run. They don’t stay long enough to understand that the Sheriff is
therealthing,thatheactuallymeanswhathesaysandthenactson
those heartfelt beliefs and ideas, and that’s why he has commanded
suchoverwhelmingsupportfromsomanypeopleforsomanyyears.
Apparently,itiseasytodismisstheSheriffasamediaphenome-
non, as a sideshow with some clever ideas to distract an easily dis-
tractible public. But if that is so, name another elected official, and
especiallyadynamic,controversialone,whohaswonfourelections
in a row, quickly heading into his fifth, with an uninterrupted
approvalratingalwaysintheneighborhoodof80percent—80per-
cent!—from the people.
Can you imagine how hard it must be to maintain that level of
support? Even more, can you imagine how hard it must be to
maintain that level of support and never lose sight of your values
and goals?
Thatkindofunprecedentedsuccessdoesnothappenbychance.
Norcanitbesustainedmerelybypresseventsandrousingspeeches.
Itcanonlybeearnedbydoingwhatishardandrightandgood,and
doing all of it openly and honestly.
Even if you agreed with every action that Sheriff Joe has taken
(and, obviously, most voters in Maricopa County have agreed with
most of his decisions), even that probably wouldn’t be sufficient to
maintain your interest, not on our sensation-saturated planet, not
for more than fifteen years. Sheriff Joe not only survives but tri-
umphsbecausehehassomehowreachedacrossthedivideandcon-
nects with the people of his county and, indeed, the people of
Arizona and across the United States, and even beyond, in some
inexplicable, profoundly personal way.
PerhapsSheriffArpaiohasforgedthislinkbecauseheissocon-
spicuouslyEveryman,withdistinctlyAmericanmanners,beliefs,and
ideas, though with overtly more courage and purpose and dedica-
SHERIFF_ FM_pI-X:sheriff 2/27/08 3:28 PM Page ix
INTRODUCTION ix
tion than most of his compatriots. He is one of us, accessible and
comprehensible, in more vivid colors, his life overlaid with drama,
consequence, and daring.
Thatisoftenthepointofart,oratleastentertainment,present-
ingaportraitofanindividual,fundamentallynodifferentfromany-
one in the audience in appearance, ability, and personality, an
ordinary person who rises when the occasion demands it and per-
forms heroically. Cops are frequently employed as the character in
these scenarios, because cops are viewed as basically ordinary guys
(in movies, though less in books, male cops are the chosen gender)
facing extraordinary circumstances. Consider Bruce Willis in Die
Hard, Al Pacino in Serpico, Steve McQueen in Bullitt, Clint
Eastwood in Dirty Harry, Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon (Mel
Gibson’s the crazy one), or, to shift to TV, anybody from Law and
Order or NYPD Blue or Homicide: Life on the Streets or The Wire or
any one of a thousand other shows.
Sheriff Joe is a larger-than-life character wrapped in flesh and
blood.You’llappreciatethatevenmoreafteryoureadhisbookand
cometoknowmoreabouthiscareer,hislife,andhisprinciples.You
don’t have to agree with everything he does to be drawn in and
appreciate his appeal as an elected official and as a man. I’m a true-
blueDemocratanddisagreewiththeSheriffonanumberofissues,
largeandsmall,domesticandforeign.Regardless,noneofthatmat-
ters to me in this instance, because I’ve learned, as we all should
have,thathonorandhonestyandintellectandconvictioncountfor
more than any policy or plan, whether we’re talking about how a
school board decides to educate our children or how the President
choosestoprotecttheenvironment,promoteenergyindependence,
provide health care, and conduct war. From citizen to government,
ourdisinterestinadequatelyfundingpublicschoolshasleftArizona
ranked at the bottom in national education ratings, and the Bush
administration’s dishonest and dishonorable behavior has had
ruinous consequences at home and abroad.
