On June 8 Breitbart News spoke with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio about how there is such a big focus on illegal immigrants coming across the border yet a dearth of conversation about the flow of drugs surging across the border as well.
In the exclusive interview, Sheriff Arpaio said he wants to go to Mexico and work with “top officials” there on how to better investigate and intercept drug traffickers.
Arpaio has been the Sheriff of Maricopa County since 1993.
Regarding illegals and drugs, Sheriff Arpaio said, “illegal immigration is still a serious problem, which really took off around 2006.” He said that was when his office became involved. He added that drugs are also a huge problem on the southwest border but that no one is saying anything about it.
Sheriff Arpaio expounded:
Every two years for Congress, four years for President, illegal immigration comes out as a political issue. The president talked about the border last month, he has gone to Mexico two or three times, but I don’t see any push to talk about drugs.
When they are talking about illegal immigrants crossing the border or about securing the border, why don’t they draw in the drug issue as a side? Actually, that should be the major issue.
He went to say that those pushing to secure the border would talk about the drugs “if they were smart.” He said this is so because, while the public may have different views on illegal immigration, “the majority agree that we should stop the flow of drugs coming into our country.”
Sheriff Arpaio pointed to the growth of heroin, then said:
All the cases that we have made recently–tons of marijuana, heroin, methamphetamine–as these are coming through our county, the majority of those smuggling the drugs are going to be illegals also. I said many, many years ago that there is a tie between illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
Sheriff Arpaio explained that he covered drugs and the border as the top drug official–in Texas for a time, Arizona for a time, and Mexico City for a time–for 14 years before becoming Maricopa County Sheriff. So he knows that of which he speaks.
He then said that he is trying to set up an opportunity to go to Mexico and work with officials there on stopping the drug trade:
I want to go to Mexico. I’ve been stonewalled, so far, by federal officials. I want to go to Mexico and I want to meet with the top Mexican officials and I want to tell them my past experience and what I can do here as Sheriff to help them get better intelligence and communications on the drug thing, not the illegal immigration thing.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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