Maybe we should call him Sheriff Joe Hitler Original Article May 3, 5:10 PM EDT Sheriff's deputies assigned to find, arrest illegal immigrants By AMANDA LEE MYERS Associated Press Writer PHOENIX (AP) -- Illegal immigrants crossing the Arizona desert will have to worry about being apprehended by one more law enforcement agency. A posse of 100 volunteers and deputies with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office will be assigned to patrol the desert and main roadways in the southwest area of the county and arrest illegal immigrants, said Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The effort is an attempt to slow the tide of illegal immigrants into the county, Arizona's most populous, he said. "It's important to send the message out to stay in Mexico and don't come roaming around here hoping you're going to get amnesty," Arpaio said Wednesday. "They ought to stay cool, stay in Mexico and wait until this illegal immigration problem is solved. If they don't do that and they come to Maricopa County, they're going straight to jail." The posse likely will be deployed by the weekend, he said. The sheriff's office began arresting illegal immigrants in March under a new state smuggling law. Under the law - as interpreted by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas - illegal immigrants can be arrested and prosecuted for conspiracy to smuggle themselves into the country. The law's authors have said they intended it to be used to prosecute smugglers, not the immigrants being smuggled, and that's the way it's been applied in at least one other county where there have been prosecutions under the law. Arpaio's deputies have arrested some 120 illegal immigrants under the law, which has yet to be tested in court. "We're going to arrest any illegal who violates this new law," he said. "I'm not going to turn these people over to federal authorities so they can have a free ride back to Mexico. I'll give them a free ride into the county jail." --- On the Net: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office: http://www.mcso.org