MESA, Ariz. – Hispanic groups say they're prepared to respond to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's planned crackdown Thursday on immigration and other criminal violators in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa.

The groups contend that similar crackdowns by Arpaio were fraught with racial profiling. They are planning protests for what's expected to be a two-day sweep in Mesa.

Sixty legal observers working for the groups are expected to film deputies pulling over motorists and later interviewing those inside of the cars.

The sheriff's office says its deputies don't racially profile motorists and that it won't back away from the crackdowns.

The sheriff has drawn criticism that sweeps in three heavily Hispanic areas of metropolitan Phoenix during late March and early April were thinly veiled immigration patrols.

Mesa's police chief, George Gascon, called Thursday's planned sweep a “publicity stunt.”

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