Inmates marched to segregated area of Tent City

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio marched 220 chained illegal immigrant inmates into a segregated enclosure of Tent City Wednesday afternoon, despite protests from some County officials and civil rights groups who thought the procession violated human rights.

The 220 inmates walked from the Durango Jail complex to Tent City near 35th Avenue and Durango Street in Phoenix about 1 p.m. Wednesday. The inmates were chained at the feet and wore handcuffs while carrying bags full of personal belongings. The procession took about 15 minutes.

According to Arpaio the inmates will not be treated any differently than other inmates with two exceptions: Arpaio plans to have the inmates instructed in U.S. immigration law and have the inmates who violate jail rules put in a chain gang to work to clean areas of the Valley affected by human trafficking.

Protesters and some County officials believe the move was degrading and unnecessary.

"Shackling and marching fellow human beings for all to see is not in line with the values of the American people. While Guantanamo (Bay) is being closed, another one is being started in Arizona," Kevin Appleby, the Director of Migration and Refugee Policy with U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said.

About 30 protesters gathered in front of the County Juvenile Court Center, near the Durango Jail complex, carrying signs that read "Human beings are not your circus animals" and "No more circus media."

"There is absolutely nothing dignified about marching illegal immigrants in chain gangs," Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Phoenix, said.

The inmates were transferred from the Durango Jail complex to an area of Tent City as a cost-cutting move, according to a statement released by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Tuesday.

However, protesters and Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox said the cost-cutting effects of the move are negligible.

According to Wilcox, Arpaio has failed to submit a detailed budget-cutting proposal, despite a request made by the county's office of management to identify 20 percent of each department's budgets that could be cut.

"He's trying to justify this as a 'budget savings,' and I'm just appalled. It's just another publicity stunt. He doesn't outline how he'll save costs," Wilcox said.

Despite the protesters' belief that the segregation and separation of inmates is inhumane, separating inmates is not unconstitutional unless the illegal inmates are treated differently from other Tent City inmates, Meetze said.

Inmate separation is the exception and not the rule, according to the Pima County Sheriff's Office and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office in Texas. Both agencies experience a steady flow of illegal immigrant detention. According to both agencies crime severity and health issues are often the only criteria used to separate inmates.

Inmates at the Pima County Jail are not separated based on immigrant status or race, according to spokeswoman for the Pima County, Dawn Barking.

"We separate the ones that cannot live with others because of crime severity or mental issues," Jesse Tover, El Paso County Sheriff's Office spokesman, said.

Undocumented immigrant prisoners in the Durango Jail walk in chains and shackles to Tent City Feb. 4, 2009.