Chasing after immigrants

Sad news about the 1,500 or so American Apparel workers who lost their jobs because they couldn't prove their immigration status (that after the feds went into the downtown factory a couple of months back). But at least we're not living in Arizona's Maricopa County (that's Phoenix and environs), where Sheriff Joe Arpaio has raided 22 Phoenix-area businesses suspected of hiring illegal immigrants since 2008. From the Phoenix Business Journal:

It often starts with a disgruntled current or former employee calling a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office tip line or a worker who has gotten into legal trouble sharing information on an employer. The result can be dozens of armed MCSO deputies raiding a business, shutting it down for hours and arresting suspected undocumented workers.

These arrests often lead to jail time that makes L.A. County facilities look almost humane. There's been a lot written about Arpaio over the years, but a recent New Yorker profile provided a reminder of what a piece of work this guy is. Here's a snippet from the abstract:

In 1993, vowing that no troublemakers would be released on his watch because of overcrowding, he created the Tent City jail. His popularity grew. He banned cigarettes from his jails. Skin magazines. Movies. Coffee. Salt and pepper. He put inmates in black-and-white striped uniforms and created chain gangs. Later, he decreed that all his inmates must wear pink underwear, socks, and flip-flops. Tells about the thousands of lawsuits and legal claims of abuse filed against Arpaio's department. Last year, the National Commission on Correction Health Care withdrew the health accreditation of Maricopa County's jails. In March, the U.S. Department of Justice, at the request of members of Congress, launched an investigation into charges of discriminatory conduct by Arpaio's office.

One other thing: Television is limited to the Weather Channel and the Food Network, the former to remind prisoners of how hot it is and the latter to tantalize them with meals they can't have.