ICE’s heavy-handed immigration enforcement was tried once before – by Arizona’s notorious sheriff Joe Arpaio in the early 2000s

The Trump administration’s immigration detention policies appear to be, in part, inspired by the heavy-handed tactics of the former Arizona sheriff.

By: Jonathan van Harmelen, Oberlin College and Conservatory, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: April 20, 2026

Words: 1,142

Last Updated: 3 months, 1 week ago

By Jonathan van Harmelen, Oberlin College and Conservatory

For the past 13 years, Maricopa County in Arizona has attempted to reform its sheriff’s department after Joe Arpaio made it into a national flash point for extreme immigration tactics. After a legal immigrant sued Arpaio and the county Sheriff’s Office, a federal district court ruled in 2015 that Arpaio and his deputies relied on racial profiling to target Latinos.

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