2 deputies killed in California: Arpaio critical of feds, suspect has Arizona ties

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio expressed his concern Sunday evening with the federal government's "backdoor amnesty" on immigration, when it was revealed that the suspect in Friday's series of shootings in California, that left two sheriff's deputies dead, had Arizona ties and had been deported on two occasions. Monroy-Bracamonte was arrested in Maricopa County in 1996 and was previously deported, Arpaio said Sunday at a press conference. He might have used other aliases, Arpaio added. "He was booked into the jails I run for drug-related convictions," Arpaio said. "He was evidently turned over to ICE and had been deported on two occasions." ICE said Monroy-Bracamonte was deported to Mexico in 1997 and was deported a second time in 2001 for circumstances that were not clear Sunday evening. Arapio said this is just another example of what he has been talking about for the past eight months: ICE releasing undocumented immigrants back onto the streets of Maricopa County. "Once again we are faced with another tragedy on our hands because of a form of 'backdoor amnesty,' " he said. This year, the Sheriff's Office conducted an investigation that showed that 4,000 inmates in their jails are undocumented immigrants who had been previously turned over to the U.S. government, Arpaio said at the press conference. "A stunning 36 percent had come back to our jails," he said. Arpaio said he has repeatedly written letters to the Secretary of Homeland Security, the DHS Inspector General, and the head of ICE, for an investigation as to how and why these criminals have been deported and returned or "let out the back door." "The situation is not only intolerable, but it is also getting worse." This month alone, two different undocumented immigrant criminals were arrested who have had 15 prior arrests, another two with 11 arrests each, one with 15 arrests and one more with 16 arrests, Arpaio said...more