287g

Families are being torn apart by deportation at the treacherous intersection of immigration enforcement and the criminal justice system.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a defiant, racial-profiling desperado with renewed authority to abuse his inmates. The scary part? The voting public approves.

The 287(g) provision has been one of the most controversial aspects of the immigration debate because of allegations that law enforcement officers use 287(g) authorization to investigate the immigration status of individuals who have not committed serious crimes.

A coalition of 521 organizations have signed an open letter to Obama and are planning vigils, marches, and other events across the country to protest the administration's policy on the Department of Homeland Security 287(g) local immigration enforcement program

The Obama administration's talk of "truly civil" immigrant prisons and of imprisoning immigrants more "thoughtfully and humanely" are reminiscent of similar talk by the Bush administration.

Although Julio Mora is a U.S. citizen and his dad has a green card, they were arrested in Phoenix, Arizona, on suspicion of being undocumented aliens. The case is commonplace.

Critics of Sheriff Joe "Tent City" Arpaio have been celebrating but the revelry is premature: Neither Arpaio nor his officers will be prosecuted, punished, or sanctioned.

Sheriff Arpaio is as controversial as he is popular, oscillating between a conservative media darling (even landing his own reality TV show) and a liberal media pariah.

Lawmakers, union leaders, human rights groups, Democratic Party leaders, and celebrities are taking on the "Toughest Sheriff in America" for policies that they say encourage racial profilin and civil rights violations.