Arizona sheriff conducts migrant sweeps despite curb

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...