The Center for New Community ran a strongly worded statement in Arizona Republic Newspaper signed by 60 prominent Black leaders lambasting the policies of Maricopa County Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The group compares the controversial sheriff to 1960s Birmingham, Ala. law enforcer Bull Connor. Arpaio is possibly best known for targeting Latino communities for immigration raids, forcing inmates to sleep in tent cities in the Arizona summer and targeting his political opponents with raids and investigations.

"It is shameful that these appalling actions by Sheriff Arpaio have gone unchecked for so long," said Center for New Community Chair, Rev. Kazi Joshua. "The number of Black leaders who spoke out in today's newspaper should send a clear message to the Department of Justice that this is an urgent civil rights crisis that requires immediate action."
The advertisement details the most alarming actions taken by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, including:

• The humiliation of over 200 individuals chained in shackles and marched through the streets of Phoenix, and their segregation based on national origin;
• Use of Sheriff's Office resources to harass public officials, civic organizations, newspapers, and community leaders publicly opposed to Sheriff Joe Arpaio's negligent actions;
• Profiling of individuals based on their ethnicity and language.
• Irresponsible remarks and actions that denigrate his office, including stating on national television that "it's an honor" to be compared with the Ku Klux Klan, and public photographs with a self-identified neo-Nazi.

In addition to detailing the actions of Sheriff Arpaio, the advertisement stated, "As Black and African American leaders we call on Attorney General of the United States Eric H. Holder and the Department of Justice to prove once and for all that this is not Arpaio's America."
"We are deeply troubled about the growing level of racism and racial division seen in Maricopa County," stated James E. Johnson, Jr., a former county commissioner from Eagle County, Colorado and current Center for New Community organizer, "and the unwillingness of national political leaders to step forward to condemn activities that dehumanize people within the community."

Arpaio is currently under federal grand jury investigation.