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Arizonas Joe Arpaio, once known as Americas toughest sheriff, was back Monday where has long been most at home in the spotlight although not for the reasons he would have preferred.

Months after losing his re-election bid, the 85-year-old former Maricopa County sheriff went on trial in Phoenix on misdemeanor criminal contempt-of-court charges, a case his foes have praised as long overdue and fans have denounced as a political prosecution.

Federal prosecutors argued that Mr. Arpaio willfully disobeyed a 2011 injunction barring him from enforcing federal immigration laws by detaining 170 suspected illegal aliens from December 2011 to May 2013.

After U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement refused to accept the suspects in 2012, the sheriffs office tried a workaround by taking them to Border Patrol.

He thought he could get away with it, prosecutor Victor Salgado said in his opening argument, according to ABC15. He never thought this day would come.

Defense attorney Jack Wilenchik called the prosecution of Mr. Arpaio shameful and outrageous, as reported by the Phoenix New Times.

Mr. Arpaio became a national figure during his 24 years as sheriff with headline-grabbing moves such as requiring prisoners to wear pink underwear and erecting a tent city for offenders.

The trial has gained national attention with the defenses attempt to call Attorney General Jeff Sessions as a witness, which the Justice Department has resisted, saying Mr. Sessions was a senator during the relevant period and that the defense has failed to show extraordinary circumstances.

The proceedings, playing out before a packed courtroom, began on Monday with a victory for the prosecution: Hours beforehand, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Mr. Arpaios request for a jury trial.

Instead, the former lawman will have his fate decided by U.S. District Court Judge Susan R. Bolton, a Clinton appointee, in a trial expected to last eight days. If found guilty, Mr. Arpaio faces a maximum six months in jail.

The prosecution called former Arpaio counsel Tim Casey, who said he told the sheriff that he must either arrest detainees on state charges or release them, instead of detaining them solely on suspicion of being in the country illegally.

Mr. Casey said he told the sheriff and his subordinates, Arrest or release. Those are the options, The Arizona Republic reported.

Opinion on the case is sharply divided. James Fotis, president of the National Center for Police Defense, accused the Justice Department of deep state bias, noting that prosecutors filed the charges two weeks before the Nov. 8 election.

With over 55 years of law enforcement experience, Sheriff Arpaio has always followed and enforced the laws on the books. Now, the DOJ wants to put him in prison for enforcing the very laws he swore an oath to uphold, Mr. Fotis said in a Monday statement.

The six-term Republican sheriff lost his seventh bid for office to Democrat Paul Penzone, a former police officer, by 56 percent to 44 percent. The new sheriff has since taken down the tent city.

After the loss, Mr. Arpaio started a conservative nonprofit called the Sheriff Joe Arpaio Action Fund to advocate on issues such as illegal immigration and Second Amendment rights. Im not retired, thats for sure, he said.

In a pro-and-con, columnists for The Arizona Republic said Mr. Arpaio was guilty of violating the December 2011 preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge G. Murray Snow, but they disagreed on the punishment.

Columnist Elvia Diaz called for prison, saying she wanted the elderly former sheriff to go through the same hell that he forced Latinos to live, the same agony and torture of an uncertain future. Op-ed writer Laurie Roberts argued for leniency.

Ms. Roberts said the former sheriff has already lost what he loved most with his election defeat and his sentence of irrelevance.

Plenty of people are out for Arpaios blood, she said. Theyd give him life if they could.

The charges stem from a 2007 class-action lawsuit brought by Manuel de Jesus Ortega Melendres against the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office arguing that Sheriff Arpaio had engaged in racial profiling by detaining Hispanics based solely on suspicion of their legal status.

This article is based in part on wire service reports.

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Former Sheriff Arpaio back in court, this time accused of disobeying order on immigrants - Washington Times

She handed Rodolfo a checklist, assembled by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, on how to prepare for a possible deportation: Decide who can care for your children. Write down their medications and important phone numbers. Tell your family whom to call if you are detained.

Providers at these federally qualified health centers, which receive some government funds to serve the uninsured and underinsured, do not ask patients about their citizenship status. Instead, the patients, who are required to pay a modest clinic fee, must show proof of residence and income.

For decades, these clinics have been safe havens. When police officers parked in the Carrboro clinics lot for a coffee break, a doctor chased them off because she didnt want patients to be frightened.

But that was a year ago.

Now some insulin-dependent patients have been no-shows at appointments. Diabetes patients, who must exercise, have told doctors here they will not even walk around the block, skittish about the cruising police cars even though a few departments have announced they will not check immigration status.

Dr. Ashkin has built up relationships with many uninsured immigrants over the years. But recently a longtime patient, pregnant but having first-trimester bleeding, refused to take his advice to go for an ultrasound at the university medical center at Chapel Hill.

She was fearful that immigration agents might be waiting. Fortunately, the bleeding stopped.

Referring to the dread among his patients, Dr. Ashkin said, Their trust in us is breaking down.

This is not the first time that fear has kept undocumented patients away. Researchers found that in the wake of expanded immigration enforcement in Arizona in 2010, illegal immigrants used health services less frequently, according to a study published in The American Journal of Public Health.

After a large federal immigration raid in 2008 in Postville, Iowa, babies born to Latinas had a 24 percent higher risk of low birth weight than those born a year earlier, according to a study published this year in The International Journal of Epidemiology.

The effects of deferred health care will be felt in many ways, experts said. Hospitals and emergency departments, exponentially more expensive than primary care, will treat more sick patients, said Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. School systems will feel the impact of more students with a range of health-related challenges.

Researchers have also looked at the question of federal benefits for illegal immigrants.

Many are paid off the books in cash. But certainly not all. Between 2000 and 2011, immigrants not authorized to work here contributed between $2.2 billion and $3.8 billion a year more to Medicare than they withdrew, according to a 2016 study.

Jos, 42, works year-round for a tobacco grower; his wife, Irma, 44, picks tobacco and also works at a local steakhouse, wiping down tables and mopping floors. They do not have Social Security numbers because they are here illegally.

But we pay taxes! Irma declared, responding to the argument that taxpayer-funded clinics should serve only legal citizens.

Their paycheck deductions are taken with individual tax identification numbers. But, she noted, neither is eligible for the programs those taxes fund, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Siler City is a town of about 8,000 an hour southwest of Durham. The road there runs past tobacco fields, a derelict former chicken-processing factory and trailer parks into a downtown lined with storefront Pentecostal churches. A sign in an art gallery window warns: No Weapons Allowed.

In a ranch house with chipped gray-blue siding is a branch of El Futuro, Dr. Smiths mental health clinic. Post-traumatic stress disorder is prevalent among patients, said Karla Siu, the clinical program director.

A 9-year-old recalls sleeping in the desert, awakening to a snake. Women quake from memories of being raped on the road. Men seethe, mortified, less from having been stiffed of a days wages than from being too afraid to file a complaint.

As stories of raids churn through rumor mills, therapy sessions have become especially tense. Clinicians report that some patients conclude sessions with ever more elaborate farewells.

The client is grieving the possibility of not seeing the therapist again, Ms. Siu said. So saying goodbye with hugs and tears each time is a form of control, because its on their own terms.

El Futuro has waiting lists of people who want help. But in a survey of patients, the clinic found that some people are afraid to come in. Elizabeth, 27 and here illegally, is among them.

With great reluctance she showed up at the clinic for an interview with a reporter, arriving late, uneasy. Apologizing, she said she leaves her apartment these days only to go to the grocery store and to her job as a hotel maid.

She has no one who will care for her two young children if she is deported, she explained haltingly, tears welling up.

And in Mexico, another danger awaits: her ex-boyfriend. Years ago, when the couple arrived in North Carolina, she said, he began to beat her so badly that she finally called the police. They arrested him and had him deported.

Now, fearful for her children and for her own safety, Elizabeth is consumed by anxiety. Her nightmares from that violent period are back.

After recounting her story, Elizabeth walked toward El Futuros reception area, clutching her 5-year-old daughters hand. Even if she cleared the clinics wait list, she said, it just seemed too risky to come back.

A version of this article appears in print on June 27, 2017, on Page D1 of the New York edition with the headline: Sick With Worry.

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Unauthorized Immigrants Steer Clear of Medical Care - New York Times

The Washington Post allowed activist and journalist Jose Antonio Vargas to keep his job and even promoted him after telling his editor he was an illegal immigrant, The Daily Caller News Foundation learned Monday.

Vargas confessed his immigration status to Peter Perl, WaPos former assistant managing editor, about four months into his job in 2004, according to a 2011op-ed Vargas published in The New York Times. The newspaper subsequently kept him on for nearly five years,2004-2009,and promoted him from intern to staff writer, according to his LinkedIn page.

Perl kept it a secret, wrote Patrick Pexton, ombudsman for The Washington Post, in a response to Vargass public confession in 2011.

Vargas told Perl his illegal immigrant status in 2004, but Perl only disclosed it to WaPosleadership in March 2011 when Vargas tried to contribute the op-ed in which he disclosed his status. The Washington Post originally considered publishing the piece but ultimately turned it down.Vargas published the piece inThe New York Times.

Marcus Brauchli, executive editor for WaPo when Vargas pitched his 2011 op-ed, refused to publish the story, but did not share his reason for doing so.

I did something I believed was the right thing to do, Perl said to WaPo. The editor said he believed that disclosing Vargass status would cost the media figure his career and perhaps trigger his deportation.

What [Vargas] did was wrong. What [Perl] did was wrong, said Kris Coratti, a WaPo spokeswoman, to The San Diego Tribunein 2011. We are also reviewing our internal procedures, and we believe this was an isolated incident of deception.

Perl reported that his pay was not docked, nor was he suspended or terminated for failing to disclose Vargass illegal immigrant status.

[Vargas] left behind a reputation in WaPos newsroom for being tenacious and talented but also for being a relentless self-promoter whom many colleagues didnt trust, said Pexton.Editors said that he needed direction, coaching and constant watching.

Perl, Vargass superior at WaPo, should have been fined or prosecuted for continuing to employ Vargas after he learned (from Vargas himself) that Vargas was not authorized to work in the U.S., Mark Krikorian, executive director at the Center for Immigration Studies, told TheDCNF. Once this came out, WaPo should have fired Perl immediately the fact that it didnt implicates WaPo in the illegal activity.

Krikorian said that Vargass crimes could be forgotten if the illegal immigrant is repatriated, but he noted that The Washington Posts crime should not be forgotten.

Vargas himself committed multiple felonies (ID fraud, Social Security fraud, tax fraud) that a less-famous person, one less lionized by the Left, would have been prosecuted for, noted the immigration research executive. He still has family in his native country, the Philippines, and his skills set those of an English-language journalist are very much in demand, so finding work would be easy for him.

Vargas came under scrutiny Wednesday for performing work for several high-profile media companies like CNN, MTV, and The Huffington Post through several LLCs, an act which legal experts told TheDCNF likely violated the law.(RELATED: Famous Illegal Immigrant Likely Breaking The Law With The Medias Help)

If the Washington Post and the New York Times knowingly contracted with an illegal alien, which it appears they did in 2011, theyd indeed be liable under federal law, said Dale Wilcox, executive director and general counsel for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, to TheDCNF. That the Obama DOJ didnt bring an action against either of them at the time obviously isnt shocking. But its hoped the Trump DOJ does and that ICE places Vargas in removal proceedings as its obligated to do by law.

Repatriating him back to the Philippines would send out a very loud message and surely cause thousands of illegal aliens to self-deport on their own, he said.

The illegal immigrant announced Thursday that he was taking a break from social media to make space to write.

TheDCNF reached out to Jose Antonio Vargas and The Washington Post for comment, but received none in time for publication.

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Famous Illegal Immigrant Told The Washington Post He Was Illegal, They Employed Him For Years Anyway - The Daily Caller

You may recall from earlier this year we learned that Canada was facing a new sort of border challenge. People were actually fleeing from the United States and crossing over illegally into the Great White North. These were primarily illegal immigrants looking to escape The Wrath of Trump according to most accounts, but nobody seemed terribly upset about it at the time.

Any why not? If youre that worried about being caught, Canada is famous for its incredibly friendly people, generally socialist environment, generous welfare benefits and back bacon. Theyre generally good with almost anyone showing up provided youre not too much of a hoser, eh? And to top it off, the new Prime Minister was no fan of Trumps either so he pretty much rolled out the welcome mat and said he wasnt going to be taking any new, extraordinary measures to stop the flow of illegal aliens.

So hows that working out for them now? Apparently the reality of a flood of illegal immigrants (or should we go ahead and start calling them undocumented once theyre somebody elses problem) turned out to be a bit more than the system was prepared to handle. (Reuters)

Thousands of people who fled to Canada to escape President Donald Trumps crackdown on illegal migrants have become trapped in legal limbo because of an overburdened refugee system, struggling to find work, permanent housing or enroll their children in schools.

Refugee claims are taking longer to be completed than at any time in the past five years, according to previously unpublished Immigration and Refugee Board data provided to Reuters. Those wait times are set to grow longer after the IRB in April allocated up to half of its 127 tribunal members to focus on old cases. The number of delayed hearings more than doubled from 2015 to 2016 and is on track to increase again this year.

Hearings are crucial to establishing a claimants legal status in Canada. Without that status, they struggle to convince employers to hire them or landlords to rent to them. Claimants cannot access loans or student financial aid, or update academic or professional credentials to meet Canadian standards.

So rather than the normal two month average, its taking new arrivals an average of almost six months (and in some cases nearly a year) just to get a hearing. Until then, theyre having a hard time finding a job, getting anyone to rent them an apartment or qualifying for the many other benefits the Canadian social welfare system would generally be passing out. Remarkably, the Canadians care so little for their border security, however, that even these folks in limbo are still able to collect C$600 ($453) a month in government social assistance. Thats not much, but its better than having to hunt and fish for all your meals I suppose.

Two things immediately come to mind here. First, as far as these immigrants (read: illegal aliens) go, it might be worth remembering that you are still in the country illegally. Personally Im glad that youre somebody elses problem now and wish you the best, but it really cant come as that much of a shock that people dont want to hire or rent to you when you havent even been vetted to ensure you arent a terrorist.

The final question, however, is for Canada as a nation. Its a pretty small country by population, though they have a tremendous amount of land. Their infrastructure isnt all that huge. Once word gets out in the illegal alien community down here than anyone can show up without worries and begin collecting a check on day one, the trip may become even more popular. How many people in that category can you afford to absorb before your resources for your own citizens become strained to the breaking point? Thats about the time that people tend to start feeling considerably less charitable and begin asking their government what the heck is going on.

You might want to start getting an answer ready now.

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Illegals fleeing from Trump to Canada not faring too well there either - Hot Air

U.S.-Mexico border fence / Getty Images

BY: Elizabeth Harrington June 26, 2017 5:00 am

The National Endowment for the Arts is spending $20,000 for a musical about a lesbian illegal immigrant who is in love with an ICE agent.

The San Francisco Mime Troupe, a self-described socialist theater group, received the funding in the first round of grants awarded under the Trump administration. Jane Chu is the current chairman of the NEA, who was appointed by former president Barack Obama in 2014.

The musical is entitled "WALLS!" and stars a "bad hombre," mocking a phrase used by Trump to describe criminal illegal aliens during a presidential debate.

The musical does not only address issues of immigration, but a host of other liberal and political topics.

"Using the Mime Troupe's signature style of broad, physical theater, the work will explore immigration, gun violence, the opioid epidemic, depression, the public education system, and racial tensions, and how they relate to societal health," according to the grant for the project. "Portions of the work will be developed through playmaking workshops in California's Central Valley with low-income youth, inmates, and migrant workers."

"WALLS asks the question: How can a nation of immigrants declare war on immigration? The answer: FEAR!" the San Francisco Mime Troupe states on their website.

The lead character is Zaniyah, a criminal illegal alien and lesbian struggling with mental health issues.

"Zaniyah is a criminal, an illegal, a bad hombre,'" the theater group said. "What part of herself will this American give up to pass as American?' Will she? Can she? Should she? Can someone leave part of themselves behind without losing their mind? And is it better or worse that she crossed the border to find Agent L. Mary Jones the woman she loves?"

A trailer for the play features actors yelling "Fox News!" and discussing how immigration is an "issue" in the current "political climate."

The score includes the song "On My Watch," which features ICE agent Mary Jones feeling guilty about her job to enforce immigration laws, which the character describes as "keeping these migrant workers on the run."

The San Francisco Mime Troupe received previous grants under the Obama administration for political plays.

The group received a $20,000 grant last year for the musical "Freedomland," which follows the story of a grandson of an ex-Black Panther who returns from fighting in Afghanistan to find "another war zone at home" where "young Black men are in the crosshairs!"

"Unarmed black men being killed by the cops and they can just get away with it," said one actor when describing the play.

The San Francisco Mime Troupe put on Black Panther puppet shows in the 1960s, and performed the musical 1600 Transylvania Avenue, which decries "corporate bloodsuckers" and capitalism as the "personification of greed."

The theater group uses the logo of a red star, to show solidarity with socialists and communists. The group insists it does not support totalitarian governments, even though it identifies with symbols used by China and the Soviet Union.

"We uphold socialist ideals," the group states on its website. "The red star and red flags have a long history of representing people's struggle, socialism, and communism. This should not be read as support for totalitarian regimes. Just the opposite."

The San Francisco Mime Troupe continues: "The dictionary defines red flag' as follows: A warning signal; Something that demands attention or provokes an irritated reaction; [and] The emblem of socialist revolution."

The group also quotes from Wikipedia, which explains the red flag has represented left-wing political movements since the French Revolution, and has been used by authoritarian communist regimes, including, China, Vietnam, and the Soviet Union.

The theater group complains that it used to receive more taxpayer-funding, but "right-wing attacks" against the NEA in the 1990s now only allows the group to tour a "few weeks a year."

"Unsubsidized until the late l970's [sic], the Troupe enjoyed a few stable years in the l980's [sic] with grants from the city, the state of California, and the National Endowment for the Arts," the group said. "In the 1990's, the rightwing attack on the NEA cost the SFMT most of its federal support and also decimated the national touring network, its other main source of income. The company now tours only a few weeks a year, and spends winters conducting theater workshops for at-risk teens."

The San Francisco Mime Troupe has received $461,000 from the NEA since 1998.

Funding includes a total of $40,000 for "Freedomland," as well as $20,000 in 2012 for the play "The Last Election," about a "group of corporate power brokers on Capitol Hill that plots to postpone an election to make an assault on democracy."

The group also received $50,000 for the anti-capitalist "2012 The Musical," and $20,000 for "Too Big to Fail" in 2009.

President Donald Trump has proposed cutting the NEA, along with the National Endowment for the Humanities, entirely. However, both agencies received a $2 million increase from Congress in the budget agreement passed earlier this year.

Chu has served as NEA chairman since her appointment by Obama in February 2014. She has overseen more than $240 million in grants.

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Feds Spend $20000 on Musical About Illegal Immigrant Lesbian - Washington Free Beacon