When it comes to Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s crusade against undocumented immigrants, no child is left behind.
Arpaio, of Maricopa County, arrested a 6-year-old suspected undocumented immigrant last week—on the same day that President Obama announced a major policy plan to grant a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants brought to the United States before they turned 16.
The young girl was reportedly part of a group of 15 people believed to be in the country illegally. Whether or not Arpaio planned to have the girl wear one of his signature pink jumpsuits was unknown. A spokesperson for Arpaio said the child had been turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The controversial sheriff is currently being sued by the Department of Justice for multiple civil rights violations. But he suggested last week that Obama’s new policy could lead to even more aggressive pursuits of undocumented immigrants by his office.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has criticized Obama’s announcement, saying it would be easy to overturn. But he also has refused to say he would overturn it himself. It is an election year, after all.
