93 arrested so far in Arpaio's latest sweep (AP c/o KSWT-AZ)

93 arrested so far in Arpaio's latest sweep
Associated Press - April 30, 2010 4:54 PM ET

PHOENIX (AP) - Two-thirds of the 93 people arrested during the first day of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's latest crime and immigration sweep were believed to be illegal immigrants.

The 2-day sweep is being run in an area of west Phoenix with a high number of "drop houses" where smugglers hide immigrants who have been sneaked into the country.

It's the 15th sweep that Arpaio has conducted since early 2008.

During the sweeps, deputies flood an area of a city - in some cases heavily Latino areas - to seek out traffic violators and arrest other alleged lawbreakers.

Critics say deputies racially profile Hispanics during the patrols. Arpaio says his deputies approach people only when they have probable cause to believe people had committed crimes.