Arpaio greeted by jeers, cheers in San Diego

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Controversial Arizona sheriff greeted by jeers, cheers in San Diego
Joe Arpaio, known for his tent city lockups and sweeps targeting illegal immigrants, faces off with protesters before regaling a friendly audience with details of his enforcement tactics in Phoenix.

By Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times
August 11, 2010

Reporting from San Diego — Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio brought his polarizing brand of immigration politics to San Diego on Tuesday afternoon, generating cheers and jeers as he faced off with protesters and later regaled a friendly audience with details of his enforcement tactics in Phoenix.
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The sheriff, long accustomed to the media spotlight, has become even more controversial as Arizona ramps up its anti-illegal-immigration stance with the passage of SB 1070. Key parts of the law, which requires officers to check the immigration status of people suspected of crimes, were blocked by a federal judge in July.

Arpaio responded to the ruling by launching his 17th sweep of suspected illegal immigrants, many of whom end up incarcerated in tents. It's keeping him busy, but he said he was happy to be visiting relatively cool San Diego. "It's 109 degrees in Phoenix; 135 in the tents," Arpaio said.

The tough-on-crime jokes drew laughs, but turned ugly at one point. When Arpaio asked the audience a rhetorical question about what to do with immigrants who crossed the border, one woman answered: "Shoot 'em."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0811-arpaio-20100811,0,2654542.story