Zack, others march (Arizona Republic)

Thousands marched today in Phoenix in a March Against the Hate rally to protest Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s anti-immigration policies and his apparent lack of concern for human rights, joined by ex-Rage Against the Machine singer Zack de la Rocha.

De la Rocha had flown in Friday and played a quick set last night with drummer from the National Day Labor Organizing Network, one of the main groups behind today’s march. De La Rocha also spoke about how his grandfather, an immigrant from Sonora, Mexico felt the same oppression many of the immigrants felt today, and urged the audience to continue with enthusiasm on Saturday:

So I’m encouraging everyone here, to come out to this march tomorrow and realize that we’re carrying a lot of voices on our shoulders.

Known as "America’s Toughest Sheriff" the one-time reality series star, Maricopa  County AZ Sheriff Joe Arpaio, fondly publicizes his tough handling of inmates, including chain gangs, bread and water diets and  tent camps in the desert. He recently received a $1.6 million dollar grant from the state to create another tent complex to house 2,500 prisoners– but Sheriff Joe says he will house only illegal immigrants arrested in raids in the new facility, which is surrounded by an electrified fence, "joking" the fence will be one that the immigrants: 

won’t want to scale 

 Charles Barkely will be serving his jail time for drunk driving in one of the tent cities as well. Says Sheriff Joe:

I’m taking a lot of heat for putting convicted illegal immigrants in the tents. How am I going to discriminate and not put high-profile people in the tents?

Rapper DMX–arrested five times by Maricopa County sheriffs for various crimes, including drug possession, animal cruelty and defrauding a local hospital–is currently serving time in Sheriff Joe’s original tent jail on a diet of bread and water. This week he faces a new charge of aggravated assault on an officer after throwing a tray of food. The sheriff told local news radio KTAR:

We had him on bread and water because of problems in the tents, then he threw food at my officer, so he’s going to be charged with assault.

These latest protests Friday and Saturday stem from Arpaio alleged use of racial profiling and the segregation of illegal immigrants in their own tent city jail. His deputies have been accused detaining those who cannot prove their citizenship status on the spot,  forcing "Latino-looking" drivers to produce Social Security cards and routinely rounding up men in "sidewalk sweeps." Meanwhile say critics, crime has increased in Maricopa County. According to America’s Voice:

Arpaio’s prisons have been stripped of their health standards accreditation, the Mayor of Phoenix and other law enforcement officials have denounced the Sheriff’s tactics, the Governor of Arizona has pulled some of his key funding, and over 2,700 lawsuits have been filed against him. Meanwhile, crime has surged. The Sheriff’s office has over 40,000 outstanding warrants for real felons that it simply hasn’t had time to tackle.

The Arizona House Judiciary Committee has written a public letter to the Attorney General and head of the Department of Homeland Security calling for an investigation into Arpaio’s tactics. This week Sheriff Joe marched 200 convicted illegal immigrants into the new tent jail.  They are being kept away from the rest of the population, a practice which some denounce as racial segregation. And which could lead to law suits.

 Speaking before the County Board of Supervisors, Special Assistant to the County Attorney Barnett Lotstein said:

Racial segregation is unconstitutional.  I don’t think there’s any dispute about that. It’s the law not only in Maricopa County but throughout the US.

Carlos Flores Vizcarra, the Phoenix-based consul general of Mexico wrote a letter to the county after the televised march:

The highly publicized march of ethnic inmates was reminiscent of inhumane and barbaric practices that we thought were overcome in a civilized society.

Friday night de la Rocha said:

The terror campaign that Mr. Arpaio is waging here in Arizona is keeping people in the shadows. They want to speak out. Their voices are the most important, because their voices and their experiences are the most dire. They are the ones that illustrate the policy, not only here in Arizona, but the policy that could potentially wreak havoc upon our communities across this country.

As of this afternoon, the Phoenix march had been peaceful with no arrests.