Tent City, Arizona's Desert 'Concentration Camp,' to Shut Down

In a long-overdue victory for human rights advocates in the United States, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department has finally ordered the closure of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio's notorious Arizona “Tent City” — an outdoor prison in the hot desert landscape described as an inhumane deathtrap.

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"Today, the circus ends, and the tents come down," Sheriff Penzone said during a Tuesday news conference, promising more effective solutions to housing prisoners. The decision comes following recommendations from a committee appointed by Penzone in January to determine the prison's fate.

Immigrant rights group Puente Arizona, who have long fought against the tent facility, hailed the decision.

"The outdoor jail is a cruel site of torture the former sheriff called his own 'concentration camp,'" Peunte's director, Carlos Garcia, said in a statement. "Today we have survivors of Tent City to thank for blowing the whistle on all the abuses of the sheriff's office."

The outdoor prison was built by then-warden and six-term Sheriff Arpaio in 1993 using hundreds of Korean War-era Army surplus tents. Officially known as the Tents Jail, the canvas compound with 2,000 beds was split into the “In-Tents Jail” and the “Con-Tents Jail,” with In-Tents designated for sentenced convicts doing straight time and Con-Tents for inmates who were on work release or work furlough.

Lacking air conditioning during the summer and central heating during the winter, the brutal conditions were a source of pride for Arpaio, who would often brag of how the temperatures often topped 120 degrees Fahrenheit — and even sometimes reached 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

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In a typically theatrical comment, the former sheriff blamed none other than billionaire philanthropist George Soros for the closure.

“George Soros got his wish,” the retired lawman said. “When he pumped about US$5 million against me to get me out of office, he wanted to close Tent City. So I guess he got his wish.”

The prison was a centerpiece of the former sheriff's time in office, which was characterized by harsh anti-immigrant racism and a mocking disregard for basic human rights.

Critics say Arpaio relished the novel forms of abuse and indignity meted out to prisoners, with U.S. President Donald Trump frequently praising Arpaio during his election campaign. Prisoners were paraded in black-and-white stripes and pink underwear while being fed rotten food, such as green bologna, twice a day.

"The days of Arizona, I hope, of being a place where people are humiliated for the self-aggrandizing of a person are over," said Grant Woods, a chair of the jail's assessment committee.

Incarcerated nonviolent convicts — many of whom were found guilty of drug possession, driving under the influence, or domestic violence charges — were often subjected to beatings or had health conditions exacerbated by the hot Arizona sun, leading to deaths in certain cases.

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In one especially egregious case from 2013, 61-year-old Arthur Madril died in his bunk while serving in a work release program for a US$4,000 child support bunker. In 2003, Brian Crenshaw was beaten to death by camp guards in a case that later resulted in a lawsuit. The family of Crenshaw was eventually awarded US$2 million. Camp residents were also susceptible to cruel beatings by other prisoners.

Alessandra Soler, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona, called the camp's closure a “good step forward” but far from enough.

“Maricopa County’s jails are plagued by the mistreatment of pre-trial detainees and remain under federal court oversight because of the ongoing abuse of people with mental health problems,” Soler said in a statement, adding that the sheriff's office should use money saved by the closure for programs and services to address those and other problems.

In 2011, a report by the U.S. Department of Justice also found that Maricopa County Sheriff's Office prisons harbored a “pervasive culture of discriminatory bias against Latinos” where inmates – especially non-English-speakers – received special punishments and were forced to tolerate racist slurs and abuse.

Arpaio, 84, was ousted in November after serving 24 years as sheriff. He faces a criminal contempt trial on April 25 for violating a 2011 federal court order prohibiting his office from attempting to enforce federal immigration laws.