New Maricopa County Sheriff says he’s focused on crime, not targeting legal immigrants

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The new Maricopa County sheriff held his first community meeting Wednesday evening in Guadalupe.

The meeting is required by the federal lawsuit the department remains under. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has been under federal oversight since a judge found a pattern of racial profiling under Sheriff Joe Arpaio nearly two decades ago.

Several people spoke out, sharing how past policies impacted them and their families.

The monitor, Robert Warshaw, started by telling the crowd that Sheriff Jerry Sheridan’s team filed a motion to push back the meeting to another day. Sheridan’s office said he felt it wasn’t safe due to the recent protests in Phoenix and Glendale.

Below: See our previous coverage of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office’s federal oversight

Warshaw, and ultimately the judge, disagreed.

The monitor also explained that while progress on the court order has been made, MCSO still falls short on traffic stops involving Latino drivers and in the backlog of internal investigations.

Sheriff Sheridan also spoke, focusing on the progress that’s been made, and he tried to reassure the public.

Arizona’s Family Investigates reporter Amy Cutler asked Sheridan if he would comply if the Trump administration or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) asked for his help.

“If it’s lawful, constitutional and legal, yes,” Sheridan responded. “Don’t be concerned unless you’re a criminal. Because that’s the sheriff’s job.”

The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the plaintiff in the case, and Department of Justice representatives were in attendance.

Community members expressed support for the court order, saying it gave them some layer of protection.

“You say you come here because you want the trust of the community, but at the same time, you go public and give threats, like bringing back tent city,” Joel Cornejo, a community member, said.

Others said the sheriff’s office should be focusing on crime and not someone’s immigration status.

Security was tight, the sheriff said he wanted to make sure people could make their voices heard safely, and they did.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2025 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.