Alejandra says she tries to stay off the streets as much as possible these days. She has just come from collecting clothes at a church and looks as if she can't get home fast enough. "I've heard about what is happening with the new laws and, honestly, I'm scared because we don't have our papers," says Alejandra, a Hispanic woman pushing her toddler son down the street in a stroller. Residents say the area has been revitalized by immigrants from Mexico, but as I visit, the streets are mostly empty, and in a 20-minute period, four police cars go by. It might seem as if Jones' campaign against illegal immigration isn't having much impact - that is, until you head across town to an area locals call Little Mexico. "If two simultaneous calls came in - one that was national security, and the other being an undocumented immigrant that poses no significant public safety threat - you can surmise exactly where we'll put our resources," Palmore says. For Palmore, the agency's course of action was clear. For Jones, it was one more frustrating example of federal failure. He called ICE, but the agency declined to come for the men. But exactly what happened was sketchy, and Jones had no actual charges to hold them on. He says Jones picked up the workers after someone reported a disturbance at the worksite. "If you're going to hold anybody, you've got to have the charges," says Greg Palmore with the regional office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Critics say the sheriff is overstepping his bounds, just as they say he did a few weeks ago, when his officers detained 18 Hispanic workers at a construction site. Jones won't reveal which businesses he's visited a spokesman says they're considered "uncharged suspects." But in fact, Jones couldn't charge the companies if he wanted to - at least not with hiring illegal workers. "If you engage in an underground economy and you think that we don't know about it, we'll be visiting you," Jones says. On his blog, Jones warns companies, "You know who you are, and we're coming." He says the signs are generating tips from the public. On six billboards across the county, Jones has plastered his own image, arms crossed over chest, reminding employers that it's illegal to hire undocumented workers. More recently, the sheriff began targeting businesses. He has billed the federal government for the incarceration costs - $150,000 since last October - though he doesn't expect to see any reimbursement checks. Jones says it costs his county thousands of dollars a month to jail lawbreakers who also happen to be illegal immigrants. "It's a big, bright yellow sign, and it's to let people know in our community that there are illegals here, and it is a problem, and we want some help," Jones says. In the parking area outside the county jail, two new signs proclaim "Illegal Aliens Here," with an arrow pointing inside. With a similar swagger, Jones is on a mission to prod, cajole, even shame federal officials into action. Jones' hero is John Wayne a near life-sized poster of the actor hangs next to his desk. And he's frightening the local Hispanic population. In Butler County, Ohio, Sheriff Richard Jones is on a mission to tackle the problem. Local authorities across the country complain that they bear the financial burden of illegal immigration, yet they lack the power to enforce immigration law. Sheriff Jones' Blog: Jones uses his Web log to encourage Butler County residents to boycott businesses that hire illegal immigrants.
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