Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Arizona voters have a favorable view of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose aggressive enforcement of laws against illegal immigration have triggered an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Forty-six percent (46%) view the sheriff very favorably.

Just 26% have an unfavorable opinion of Arpaio, including 16% who are very unfavorable, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Arizona voters. Seven percent (7%) are not sure.

Arizona voters also strongly approve of some of the tactics the sheriff employs to fight illegal immigration and crime related to it.

Seventy-four percent (74%), for example, believe that when a police officer pulls someone over for a traffic violation, they should automatically check to see if that person is in the country legally. Twenty-one percent (21%) disagree. These numbers are virtually identical to national findings on the same question.

Sixty-three percent (63%) say that if law enforcement officers know of places where immigrants gather to find work, they should sometimes conduct surprise raids to identify and deport illegal immigrants. Thirty-one percent (31%) oppose those raids. Voters nationally are a bit more supportive of this tactic to fight illegal immigration.

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Fifty-six percent (56%) of Arizona voters are at least somewhat concerned that efforts to identify and deport illegal immigrants also will end up violating the civil rights of some U.S. citizens, with 32% very worried. The level of concern is lower in Arizona than nationally.

Forty-three percent (43%) are not concerned about possible civil rights violations.

Sixty percent (60%) of Arizona voters, however, are more concerned about drug violence spilling over into the state from Mexico than they are about illegal immigration. Twenty-nine percent (29%) still say illegal immigration is the bigger worry.

Seventy-six percent (76%) think the U.S. military should be used to protect American citizens if drug violence continues to escalate along the Mexican border. Fourteen percent (14%) oppose the use of the military on the border.

Voters in Arizona are more concerned about drug violence but slightly less supportive of using the military than are voters nationally.

The Justice Department is investigating Arpaio at the urging of Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan and others. They say the sheriff is profiling Hispanics in his fight against illegal immigration.

Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Republicans have at least a somewhat favorable view of Arpaio as do 64% of unaffiliated voters. But Democrats are evenly divided between those who view him favorably and those who see him unfavorably.

Similarly, 76% of GOP voters and 67% of unaffiliateds support surprise raids, but 54% of Democrats oppose them.

Nationally, 74% of U.S. voters say the federal government is not doing enough to secure the U.S. border with Mexico.

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