9th Circuit reverses decision blocking MCSO raids

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals gave a victory to Sheriff Joe, the court upheld MCSO's ability to raid workplaces looking for identity theft.

Under those raids deputies arrested undocumented immigrants suspected of using fake or stolen ID's to get jobs. They also went after employers who knowingly hired workers using those fake documents.

The DOJ says Arpaio's deputies arrested U.S. citizens, thus enforcing Arizona's ID theft laws which have now been reinstated.

Civil rights groups who sued to have the raids stopped by saying they violated federal immigration laws are upset by the ruling.

Arpaio released a statement saying in part "I already have procedures in place as a result of my written agreement with the Department of Justice in our earlier litigation. I will be reviewing these procedures in the very near future for enforcement operations. I have not decided when or if to resurrect identity theft enforcement."