{"id":8077,"date":"2026-09-12T12:18:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T18:18:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T12:18:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T18:18:37","slug":"a-judge-keeps-federal-oversight-of-the-maricopa-sheriff-what-it-means-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/es\/a-judge-keeps-federal-oversight-of-the-maricopa-sheriff-what-it-means-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Un juez mantiene la supervisi\u00f3n federal sobre el sheriff de Maricopa: qu\u00e9 significa esto para ti"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you drive in the Phoenix area, there is a question you may have asked yourself watching lights in the rearview mirror: <em>was I stopped for how I drive, or for how I look?<\/em> A federal judge has just said that question is still a fair one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">En el bufete de abogados Campos, seguimos de cerca la evoluci\u00f3n de la pol\u00edtica de inmigraci\u00f3n de EE. UU. para proteger los derechos y el futuro de nuestros clientes. A continuaci\u00f3n te explicamos lo que se sabe, lo que a\u00fan no se sabe y qu\u00e9 puedes hacer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What did the judge decide?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">El <strong>11 de septiembre de 2026<\/strong>, juez federal de distrito <strong>G. Murray Snow<\/strong> issued a <strong>72-page<\/strong> ruling in <em><strong>Melendres v. Sheridan<\/strong><\/em> <strong>denying<\/strong> Maricopa County&#8217;s request to end court supervision of the sheriff&#8217;s office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The oversight grew out of a <strong>2013<\/strong> judgment finding that <strong>twenty large-scale patrols conducted between January 2008 and October 2011<\/strong>, under then-Sheriff <strong>Joe Arpaio<\/strong>, discriminated against Hispanic drivers in metro Phoenix. Arpaio lost reelection in 2016; the current sheriff is <strong>Jerry Sheridan<\/strong>. The supervision has run about <strong>thirteen years<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two nuances that matter and usually get lost:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The denial was &#8220;without prejudice&#8221;:<\/strong> the county may ask again with more evidence, and has said it will appeal to the Ninth Circuit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The judge did not leave everything in place:<\/strong> he ordered the parties to meet within 60 days and identified <strong>27 provisions<\/strong> that could be terminated and <strong>57<\/strong> that could move to inactive monitoring.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What did the court find about traffic stops?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The county argued that Arpaio&#8217;s immigration policies are gone and that its own studies show improvement. The judge questioned that methodology, which excluded the longest stops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the independent analysis the court accepted, <strong>the disparities persist<\/strong>: Hispanic drivers still face longer stops \u2014 the Associated Press reports a <strong>4.7-minute<\/strong> difference compared with white drivers \u2014 and the ruling also describes higher likelihoods of arrest and of being searched. The judge concluded the sheriff&#8217;s office <strong>had not satisfactorily explained those gaps<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On formal compliance the progress is real: the policy and training phase is at <strong>100%<\/strong>, <strong>156 provisions<\/strong> are in full compliance, and the internal affairs backlog fell from more than 2,100 cases to roughly 256. But <strong>46 provisions remain unmet<\/strong> and operational compliance runs between 68% and 84%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In other words: the manuals changed, but the judge was not persuaded that outcomes on the street have fully changed with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does this change immigration law?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No \u2014 and it is worth saying clearly, so nobody builds false expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is a <strong>civil rights<\/strong> case, not an immigration one. It does not alter grounds of deportation or filings with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and it <strong>does not undo<\/strong> immigration proceedings already underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What it does is set limits on how a local agency may act: state or county police <strong>may not stop someone based on appearance or language<\/strong> in order to check immigration status. And it documents, with data, that the limit is still necessary thirteen years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is also a reminder that a cooperation agreement with ICE \u2014 a so-called <strong>287(g) agreement<\/strong> \u2014 does not authorize a local agency to bypass the Constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are your rights during a traffic stop?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the practical part, and it applies in any state:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Pull over somewhere safe, turn off the engine, keep your hands visible:<\/strong> lower the window and avoid sudden movements.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Provide license, registration and insurance:<\/strong> those are the documents you do have to hand over when driving.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>You have the right to stay silent about your birthplace and your status:<\/strong> you can calmly say you prefer not to answer questions without a lawyer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Do not consent to a vehicle search:<\/strong> say &#8220;I do not consent to a search.&#8221; If they search anyway, do not resist \u2014 your attorney litigates that afterward.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Never show false documents or claim citizenship you do not have:<\/strong> falsely claiming U.S. citizenship creates permanent inadmissibility.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Write everything down as soon as you can:<\/strong> time, place, agency, patrol number, officers&#8217; names and badge numbers, and any witnesses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you believe you were stopped because of profiling, those notes are the foundation of a complaint to the agency, to prosecutors, or to a civil rights organization. It is worth reviewing it with an attorney before filing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Protege tus derechos con el bufete de abogados Campos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thirteen years of court supervision teach something uncomfortable: changes in the manuals arrive long before changes on the street. In the meantime, knowing what you can and cannot do at a stop remains the most practical protection you have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Campos Law Firm we explain your rights in plain terms, review whether an incident affected your immigration case, and stand with you if you decide to file a complaint. We do not make unrealistic promises. We provide serious legal representation backed by preparation and integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/es\/areas-de-practica\/inmigracion\/\">No dejes tu situaci\u00f3n migratoria al azar. <\/a>Ll\u00e1manos hoy mismo al <strong>+1 (844) 922-6767<\/strong> para concertar una consulta gratuita y confidencial en ingl\u00e9s o en espa\u00f1ol. Bufete de Abogados Campos: soluciones jur\u00eddicas en todas las \u00e1reas del derecho.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>El juez Murray Snow se neg\u00f3 a poner fin a la supervisi\u00f3n judicial de la Oficina del Sheriff del condado de Maricopa, trece a\u00f1os despu\u00e9s de que se demostrara la existencia de pr\u00e1cticas de discriminaci\u00f3n racial contra los conductores latinos.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":8078,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8077"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8079,"href":"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8077\/revisions\/8079"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}