About a dozen college-aged men and women interrupted a panel discussion on immigration before it even started Wednesday, rising from their seats at a Northern Arizona University auditorium as Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas received his introduction.The group's chants of "Hey Andrew, you're a racist, we don't like your two faces" spread to a past-capacity crowd and continued for about five minutes before quieting down...
Thomas (left) -- who is frequently pilloried because of his association with Joe Arpaio, the ardently anti-illegal immigration sheriff of Maricopa County -- sat beside Phoenix civil rights attorney Danny Ortega (right) at the event, which drew at least 250 people to an auditorium designed for only 200.
Both men were respectful of each other, and of their audience. When it came time to speak, Thomas, who was elected to the office of Maricopa County's top prosecutor on a platform to curb illegal immigration, remained calm but denied being a racist. Ortega, the son of immigrants whose rousing orator's style is laced with a crisp Chicano accent, commended the crowd's ensuing decorum when Thomas spoke, and he praised their "courage."
