Saban says Roundups Fanning Flames of Racial Tension

The man who wants to unseat Joe Arpaio as Maricopa County sheriff is criticizing Arpaio's illegal immigrant roundup near 25th Street and Bell Road.

Sheriff candidate Dan Saban says with 40,000 felony warrants on the books, the roundups are a waste of taxpayer money.

"It frustrates me to see 200 deputies out there looking for folks on federal misdemeanor immigrations violations on routine traffic stops compared to taking that resource and going after these known felons who have victimized people in our communities and are running free at large," says Saban.

He says the roundups are fanning the flames of racial tension in the county, and he fears they could lead to violence. "I read the blogs on KTAR. And I tell you I'm absolutely horrified. Racism is surfacing and I'm very worried about it within our county and I just cannot believe that this sheriff is willing to go out there in create that kind of situation where if I understand correctly, the SWAT team had to come out and separate the two factions."

On Thursday, pro-immigrant rights activists and anti-illegal immigration activists had a heated war of words during a demonstration at the 25th Street and Bell Road intersection near where Arpaio was conducting a round-up.

Saban says if he's elected things won't be the same. "The thing that I'll do differently than Mr. Arpaio is I won't invade cities as has been done in Phoenix in my opinion and just go after people based on the color of their skin or their desire to be in this country."