Tonight Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik is the guest of honor at the Arizona Democratic Party dinner in Tucson.

Sheriff Dupnik deports many more human beings than Sheriff Arpaio does. Artwork: Arnie Bermudez

US Congressman Raul Grijalva was one of the speakers honoring our local sheriff. I did not attend because I don’t think I should pay $65 to honor our sheriff who deports twice as many human beings as Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

It has to do with more than just geography, however.

Sheriff Dupnik is now the star of the Democratic party because he said there was a lot of vitriol on the airwaves today.

So what you may ask? He said this right after the Tucson tragedy, and Jon Justice got really mad at him, then the whole TEA Party got mad at him and had a protest against him.

I did attend the protest in favor of the Sheriff, but that is because the two sides were TEA Party: he should be recalled, and Democratic Party: he was right to say there is a lot of vitriol out there.

However, lots of activists did not forget the border Sheriff’s view towards human beings without that piece of paper.

Consider this from a speech he gave in 2009:

“If you’re here illegally then, in my judgement, the only solution is to return to the country you came from,” Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Sheriff Dupnik took to the podium to push his new idea that schools should deny education to students who are in the country illegally.

“The problem that I see is that schools aren’t allowed to ensure that the students are here legally,” Dupnik said.

What Dupnik is referring to is that it is illegal for schools to deny immigrants to enroll at their schools, and it is illegal for them to ask for citizenship papers. Sheriff Dupnik hates this law and wants a way to go after immigrant children in schools so that “if you’re here illegally… then to return to the country you came from.”

Consider this interview in the Arizona Daily Star, also in 2009:

“It’s wrong for the taxpayers in this country to spend the millions and millions and millions of dollars that we do catering to illegals,” Dupnik said. “I don’t think you’ll find other countries doing that for other citizens.”

Free education for their children is a lure for illegal immigrants, Dupnik said.

Fewer illegal immigrants, he said, would help reduce crime and other social problems because most of the social problems that plague Pima County originate on the South and Southwest sides, where many illegal immigrants reside.

“Whether you are talking about school performance, or dropouts, or gang affiliation, or one-parent homes or poverty, you name the social problem, that’s where they are all concentrated,” said Dupnik on April 21 in an interview with the Arizona Daily Star for a separate border-related story. “That has to do with illegal immigration.“

Those are some powerful words in my opinion… sounds like some vitriol against immigrants to me. With statements such as these, you would think Sheriff Arpaio was the new Sheriff in town…

Even Grijalva was disgusted Sheriff Dupnik’s comments:

Dupnik singled out the Sunnyside School District in South Tucson where he says a credible source told him one in four students are here illegally.

Artwork by Arnie Bermudez

Sunnyside officials don’t know where Dupnik is getting his information, said spokeswoman Monique Soria. Law dictates that they don’t ask students’ status so they don’t know, she said.

Dupnik’s latest comments surprised and disappointed U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., who has known him for at least 20 years.

Calling the South Side the epicenter of all social problems is inflammatory and makes Dupnik look like “Arpaio light,” said Grijalva in reference to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

“To make a categorical statement that all the crime and the dysfunction in Tucson and Pima County emanates from one part of the community is outrageous and it’s stereotypical and based on who lives there, creates racial tensions where they shouldn’t be,” Grijalva said. Dupnik’s call for schools to check immigration status is irrelevant, Grijalva said.

“The sheriff is elected to enforce the law,” Grijalva said. “He’s not elected to create new laws.”

If he feels this strongly, he should at least show more restraint and work through congressional delegates to get action, Grijalva said.

There were many Latinos mad at Giffords last year for using the murder of a white rancher along the border for political gain by stoking the xenophobic fears of Arizonans by blaming the murder on the border, and worked to get $600 million more to militarize the border further. Her office was more sympathetic to Sheriff Dupnik’s fears of the “illegals.”

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was unavailable for comment, but spokesman C.J. Karamargin said the congresswoman supports the 1982 Supreme Court decision but also understands Dupnik’s concerns.

“Sheriff Dupnik is expressing a sense of frustration that is acutely felt by Arizona’s border communities,” Karamargin said in a statement.

“Illegal immigration is exacting a tremendous toll on our schools, hospitals, law enforcement and social-service agencies.“

So let’s deport them all?

The notion that crime originates with illegal immigrants is also erroneous, she [Jennifer Allen from Border Action Network] said. Numerous studies have shown that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S. citizens, she said, making Dupnik’s assertions more puzzling.

Allen also told KOLD in 2009 in response to Sheriff Dupnik’s speech that:

Border Action Network’s Director Jennifer Allen says even if Sheriff Dupnik doesn’t have a plan to implement his idea, the idea is already out.

“The ripples of fear have already permeated our town and it is already setting a precedent and a tone for people and members of our community that he should be working to build trust with, not isolate,” Allen told KOLD.

Fear… vitriol… hatred of people living as our neighbors and in our schools. This is not a good thing, and just recently it was Sheriff Dupnik spreading this fear.

This all occurred while the Tucson Citizen was still a newspaper, and this is a few days later in May 2009, and the exchange goes as such:

Grijalva, 10 others want apology from Dupnik for immigration comments

A group of local, state and federal politicians demanded an apology from Sheriff Clarence Dupnik for statements regarding schools checking the citizenship of students.

U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva was among the politicians – all Democrats – to sign a letter criticizing Dupnik’s statements.

That was on May 5th. Three days later on May 8th:

Dupnik not apologizing for remarks on illegal immigration

Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik said he would not apologize for saying last week as many as 40 percent of Sunnyside Unified School District students are illegally in the United States and that much South Side crime is linked to illegal immigration.

The statements led to a letter from 10 politicians, all Democrats, as is Dupnik, demanding the sheriff apologize for his remarks.

Dupnik said his remarks were an effort to point out “reality.”

As far as apologizing for his remarks, Dupnik said, “No. Who am I supposed to apologize to, illegal aliens?”

Regarding illegal immigrants in Sunnyside schools, Dupnik said he was given the 40 percent figure by “a number of people, including teachers and others” in the school district.

As for crime on the South, Southwest and West sides of the city, Dupnik would not say how he knows much of it stems from illegal immigration, saying only, “You know that’s true.”

Dupnik said a number of “magnets” bring illegal immigrants to the United States, including citizenship for children born here, free medical services, social services and a free education.

And now in 2011:

Ideally Rodney Glassman would also show up to the Democratic Dinner for Dupnik, and then Raul Grijalva could honor his two favorite immigrant lovers: one exploits them in his Fresno grape fields, the other wants them out of our schools and deported!