Maricopa County leader supports Sheriff Jerry Sheridan’s comments on potential ICE conflicts

PHOENIX — One of Maricopa County’s top officials said he stands behind the sheriff when it comes to how to handle potential conflicts involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“What I would say is that I really appreciate everything that Sheriff Jerry Sheridan has done,” Supervisor Thomas Galvin told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Tuesday. “Secondly, I do not take issue with any of the statements that he has made.”

Galvin, a Republican from District 2, was reacting to several statements Sheridan made last week.

What statements did Jerry Sheridan make about ICE?

Sheridan made headlines on Jan. 14 during an appearance on the weekly debate show “The Faceoff” on KTAR News’s Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos.

After co-host Larry Gaydos brought up rumors that ICE activity will spike in metro Phoenix. Sheridan said “the sheriff will be there” if anyone — ICE or otherwise — is doing something illegal or unlawful. He went on to explain that he has personally jailed deputies and even had his own nephew fired before pressing criminal charges against him.

“So I’m not afraid to do that,” Sheridan said during the debate. “We have people in law enforcement that shouldn’t be there and when they step over the line … we police ourselves very well.”

However, a few days later, Sheridan posted an Instagram video clarifying his stance.

In the follow-up video on Jan. 17, Sheridan said that as a “constitutional sheriff,” he would arrest anyone who tries to interfere with ICE agents working in the Phoenix area. He also mentioned that MCSO has two ICE agents stationed in its intake facility.

Maricopa County supervisor reacts to Jerry Sheridan’s ICE comments on

“What Jerry Sheridan has been saying — and he has said it since day one since he announced his campaign for office, and while serving his office — is that he has taken an oath to the Constitution of Arizona and to the Constitution of the United States: Follow the law,” Galvin said.

Both Sheridan and Galvin urged the public to be peaceful when protesting ICE activity in metro Phoenix.

“Everyone needs to follow the law, whether you’re an elected official whether you’re a law enforcement professional or you’re a federal agent,” Galvin said. “The other thing I must say is that citizens have to follow the law as well.”

Galvin, who served as the chairman of the board of supervisors last year, said citizens can’t obstruct ICE officers — though he didn’t specify what classified as obstruction.

“If we have federal officers or local law enforcement engaging in legitimate law enforcement duties, you are not allowed to obstruct or to hurt those law enforcement officials,” Galvin said.

He and Sheridan both made these comments in the wake of the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen named Renee Good by an ICE officer named Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7.

Later that day, dozens of people protested outside ICE’s Phoenix office.

“You have the right to protest, that is a sacred right under the First Amendment,” Galvin added. “But, once again, I want to go back to Jerry Sheridan. He has done a terrific job. He has been very good at balancing all of the duties of his job.”

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