Tucson Sheriff Won't Enforce 'Stupid' 'Racist' New Immigration Law

Hey! Arizona still has good citizens left. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik declared his refusal to comply with his state's ugly, xenophobic new law, calling it "humiliating" and "racist." Way to go, Dupnik! Too bad you will probably get sued.

Arizona recently passed a law giving the police broad powers to detain people they suspect of being in the country illegally. If you are thinking this sounds like some kind of xenophobic police-state bullshit essentially mandating racial profiling, well, you are thinking right.


But why take our word for it? Clarence Dupnik runs shit in Tucson and the surrounding area. He has been a cop for fifty goddamn years. And he thinks this law sucks, too:

Sheriff Clarence Dupnik calls SB 1070 "racist," "disgusting," and "unnecessary."

Speaking Tuesday morning with KGUN9's Steve Nunez, Dupnik made it clear that while he will not comply with the provisions of the new law, nor will he let illegal immigrants go free. "We're going to keep doing what we've been doing all along," Dupnik said. "We're going to stop and detain these people for the Border Patrol."

But here's the thing about Arizona's fun new no-Mexicans-allowed law: It's so stupid, Clarence can't actually keep doing his job the way he's supposed to. One of the law's provisions allows him to be sued if his constituents don't think he's complying.

The sheriff acknowledged that this course of action could get him hauled into court. SB 1070 allows citizens to sue any law enforcement official who doesn't comply with the law. But Dupnik told Nunez that SB 1070 would force his deputies to adopt racial profiling as an enforcement tactic, which Dupnik says could also get him sued. "So we're kind of in a damned if we do, damned if we don't situation. It's just a stupid law."

If we were Clarence Dupnik, we would quit. But we're not, thank God. See, Dupnik has a solution: "The November election."

[KGUN; pic via Getty]