Joe Arpaio Puts Crosses Where Bodies Found In Desert

By Taylor Pineda

Maricopa County jail inmates in Arizona have built white wooden crosses they will place where bodies of dead immigrants were found after ill-fated illegal border crossings, controversial Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced Thursday.

Arpaio, whose reputation for doing anything for publicity contributed to his tough enforcement of immigration laws against immigrants, says he is erecting the crosses as a reminder of how dangerous it is to travel from Mexico through the desert of southern Arizona.

The crosses will be numbered and GPS sensitive, allowing immigrants to call 911 for help, according to myphoenix.com.

“Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputies have investigated 14 deaths since June in and around Gila Bend, an area known for human trafficking. Desert crossers are dying in unknown numbers due to the desert’s brutal conditions and excessively high temperatures,” said Arpaio, according to myfoxphoenix.com.

“In addition to 14 dead, over 30 individuals have been rescued from the same area this summer,” he added.

“Every life is precious,” added Arpaio. “It is our duty to preserve the peace and protect the public, no matter their national status or citizenry.”

He says he is doing the right thing morally by this cross campaign in order to put the complexity of the national immigration dilemma into context.  However others see such pro-immigrant activism a motive for attracting more publicity. With the metaphoric symbolism of a white cross, constructed by inmates, the plan seems a bit more a publicity tactic than honoring dead immigrants.  

“If we have to do 1,000 of these, or 5,000, we’ll do it,” said Arpaio.

The U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson sector located 177 bodies in the last fiscal year, clearly highlighting there is a humane need to acknowledge these individuals.