Illegal immigrants crossing the Arizona desert in will have to worry about being apprehended by one more law enforcement agency. A posse of 100 volunteers and deputies with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office will be assigned to patrol the desert and main roadways in the southwest area of the county and arrest illegal immigrants, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said in a news release.
The effort is an attempt to slow the tide of illegal immigrants into the county, Arizona's most populous, according to the release.
"There are so many illegals trying to make it into the county that it's overwhelming my deputies," Arpaio said.
The sheriff's office began arresting illegal immigrants in March under a new state smuggling law. Under the law, as interpreted by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, illegal immigrants can be arrested and prosecuted for conspiracy to smuggle themselves into the country.
Arpaio's deputies have arrested some 120 illegal immigrants under the law, which has yet to be tested in court.
The law's authors have said they intended it to be used to prosecute smugglers, not the immigrants being smuggled.