Arizona sheriff conducts migrant sweeps despite curb

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona sheriff known for cracking down on undocumented migrants is conducting an immigration and crime sweep around Phoenix, less than a day after federal authorities curbed his powers to make immigration arrests.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio dispatched deputies on a two-day "crime suppression" operation in the western Phoenix valley on Friday, stopping and arresting at least eight people for minor offenses who could not prove that they were in Arizona legally.

Arpaio, whose sweeps have led to allegations of racial profiling, said he is carrying out the operations under Arizona state laws targeting smugglers and another federal law he says allows him to detain illegal immigrants.

"Nothing has changed," Arpaio said while overseeing the operation in a suburb northwest of Phoenix. "We're still going to be doing what we've been doing tonight and during the last two and a half years. I don't take orders from anyone."

Arpaio had carried out the sweeps in a partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that gave select state and local police authority to make immigration arrests.

His deputies lost powers to enforce immigration laws on the streets under a revamp to the ICE program announced on Friday, but they are still allowed to determine the immigration status of detainees held in county lockups.

Arpaio has held office since 1992 and has been criticized by Hispanic activists, civic authorities and civil rights leader Al Sharpton. They say the Phoenix sweeps in areas with significant Latino populations amount to racial profiling.

He denies it. "This is not racial profiling," he said. "We treat everyone the same."

Immigration, particularly what to do with almost 12 million illegal immigrants living and working in the shadows, is a divisive issue in the United States.

President Barack Obama has pledged to seek support in Congress to overhaul the system and supports offering illegal immigrants in good standing the chance to pay a fine and become citizens. However he also supports cracking down on lawbreakers and tightening workplace and border enforcement.

(Additional reporting by Tim Gaynor; editing by Chris Wilson)