A western Arizona county got a $1.1 million surge in jail revenue in the just-ended fiscal year for housing inmates from other jurisdictions, most of them immigrants in the country illegally.
La Paz County Sheriff Bill Risen says federal authorities are choosing to house those immigrants in Arizona because of California laws that limit and regulate how state and local law enforcement agencies cooperate with the federal government on immigration matters.
The Today's News-Herald newspaper reports that La Paz County was housing nearly 150 federal inmates in late June and that the payments provided the county with a big payday over the $81,000 in jail revenue budgeted for the year.
A federal judge on Thursday allowed California to enforce some state sanctuary laws, including one requiring inspections of detention facilities.
