This sheriff is one of my heroes:

    Sheriff Joe Arpaio may have raised some eyebrows with his unorthodox approach to illegal immigration in Maricopa County, Ariz., but his using a new state law to catch undocumented workers has won praise from sheriffs along the nation’s 2,000-mile border with Mexico.

    Earlier this month, Arpaio used the new law — geared to capturing “coyotes,” or human smugglers — to arrest undocumented immigrants for violating local statutes. Charging the illegals with “conspiracy to smuggle themselves,” As of Tuesday, Arpaio and a posse of law enforcement officials and volunteers have detained 224 people.

    Officers from California to Texas say they like Arpaio’s approach but aren't able to adopt it in their states, where understaffed departments, the reshuffling of Border Patrol agents and the lack of state immigration legislation prohibit them from tracking and capturing people crossing the border illegally.

    Arpaio has interpreted the new Arizona coyote law to apply to the smuggled individuals. "I’m the elected sheriff and I'm going to do what I feel is right regardless of the controversy," Arpaio said.

    Detainees in Maricopa County are housed in a tent city and forced to wear pink underwear and eat green bologna.

    According to Maricopa County Sheriff's Lt. Paul Chagolla, one Arizona law-enforcement agency has contacted the department inquiring about how the county charges the undocumented workers under the new law.