By The Associated Press
PHOENIX, Ariz. — A Mexican citizen who is legally in the United States has sued the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, claiming its aggressive immigration enforcement has led to racial profiling.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court, outlines several alleged instances where Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his deputies overstepped their authority, targeted people solely based on race and detained individuals who are legally in the country.
Arpaio, who has drawn controversy for dressing inmates in pink underwear and putting them in chain gangs, called the lawsuit frivolous and said it is an attempt to intimidate him before his office begins enforcing a new law on Jan. 1 that threatens employers with penalties if they knowingly hire illegal workers.
The lawsuit seeks a judgment that Arpaio’s actions are unconstitutional, injunctions prohibiting the use of the sheriff’s anti-immigration hot line, and the disbanding of the Illegal Immigration Interdiction unit.
''Our investigations show that the Sheriff’s Office has routinely exceeded their authority and shown a blatant disregard for the civil rights of individuals in Maricopa County,’' said Lou Moffa, a lead attorney in the case.
Although only one plaintiff is identified, the lawsuit is a class-action suit filed on behalf of all alleged victims. It is based on the claims of Manuel de Jesus Ortega Melendres, a retired teacher, who was stopped by deputies on Sept. 26 in suburban Cave Creek.
Ortega said he legally entered the United States on Sept. 6 and produced a U.S. visa, his Mexican federal voter-registration card and a copy of a permit from the Department of Homeland Security.
The lawsuit claims Ortega was detained for about eight hours before an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent verified his documents and set him free.
Capt. Paul Chagolla, a sheriff’s spokesman, said Ortega was detained and transported appropriately after he made statements about seeking employment when he was in the country with a visitor’s visa that didn’t allow him to work.