Joe Arpaio Immigration Case: Judge Rules Against Arizona Sheriff For Illegal Stops

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WASHINGTON, Dec 23(Reuters) - By Alex Dobuzinskis

Dec 23 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday barred ArizonaSheriff Joe Arpaio from detaining people simply for being in thecountry illegally, in a ruling that faulted the local lawman forenforcing federal immigration law.

The opinion by U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow came onthe same day he issued legal sanctions against Arpaio overdestroyed documents.

The sheriff already has faced rebukes from federal agenciesover his controversial efforts to crack down on illegalimmigration.

Both rulings by Snow stemmed from a 2007 civil lawsuitagainst Arpaio and his agency, which accuses his officers ofracial profiling of Latinos in traffic stops the judge foundwere conducted as immigration sweeps.

The judge also said officers with the Maricopa CountySheriff's Department, which covers Phoenix and surroundingareas, circulated emails that "compared Mexicans to dogs" andportrayed them "as drunks."

"Local law enforcement agencies ... may not enforce civilfederal immigration law," Snow said in his written opinion.

He added that the sheriff's agency could not detain "anyperson based only on knowledge or reasonable belief, withoutmore, that the person is unlawfully present within the UnitedStates."

In his ruling, Snow also granted a request by plaintiffs tocertify the lawsuit as a class action.

Last week, the U.S. Justice Department accused Arpaio andhis deputies of engaging in a "pervasive culture ofdiscriminatory bias" and violating civil rights laws by singlingout Latinos for unlawful detention and arrests. The same day,the U.S. Department of Homeland Security barred Arpaio'sdeputies from screening jail inmates for their immigrationstatus.