Joe Arpaio: Sheriff's star rises with 'tea party,' illegal immigration fight

At a "tea party" rally near the US-Mexican border this summer to showcase Arizona's tough immigration law and its advocates, Sheriff Joe Arpaio was introduced as someone who "will not back down, no matter which way they write it, no matter which way they say it." He got a rock star welcome. Both revered and reviled for his dogged pursuit of illegal immigrants in the Phoenix area, the veteran lawman from Maricopa County has long been a lightning rod in the American immigration debate. But since the passage of SB 1070, the controversial Arizona immigration law that is now in legal limbo, Sheriff Arpaio and his efforts have been infused with a new resonance nationwide. He has emerged as a key figure in the debate over whether states have the right to enforce federal immigration laws. To admirers, Arpaio is a Goliath in the fight against illegal immigration...more