Joe Arpaio: Self-proclaimed "Toughest sheriff in America"

Over the past 20 years in elected office, Arizona county sheriff Joe Arpaio has built a reputation as the self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff in America," first making national headlines for his controversial, "outside-the-box" polices at the Maricopa County jail. More recently, immigration patrols have become his signature issue and the subject of scrutiny, resulting in a 2012 Department of Justice civil rights lawsuit. Here's a look at some of the biggest moments in his career.

Arpaio became Maricopa County sheriff in 1992 and has been elected five times. Arpaio's biography on the Maricopa County sheriff's website notes that he oversees chain gangs, "started the nation's largest Tent City for convicted inmates," posts mug shots online of all those arrested in the county and has reduced crime using "hard-hitting enforcement methods." In 1995, Arpaio reinstated chain gangs in his jails. Saying he doesn't believe in discrimination, the policy applied to female inmates, too. In this Sept. 11, 1996, photo, Arpaio displays chains worn by women at Estrella prison.

Female inmates are chained together as they bury cadavers at Maricopa County's pauper's graveyard in Phoenix, May 17, 2000.

Arpaio sits behind his desk next to a sign for the Tent City prison camp, May 28, 1997. Among the rules: Hard labor, haircuts, bologna sandwiches, pink underwear and no girlie magazines, smoking or coffee. Human rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, criticized Arpaio and the facility for violating human and constitutional rights, comparing Tent City to a concentration camp.

Prisoners at the Tent City prison camp are reportedly fed twice a day, sleeping in tents lacking air conditioning despite Arizona's blazing temperatures. At one point, Arpaio issued striped prison uniforms and pink underwear and socks. The camp, pictured here in 1997, was Arpaio's response to overcrowding that was resulting in early release for some inmates. It continues to operate.

Inmates are moved after being ordered by Maricopa County Sheriff Officer Arpaio, looking on, to be placed into new housing to open up new beds for maximum security inmates, April 17, 2009, in Phoenix, Ariz.

Several hundred undocumented immigrants are currently serving time in Arpaio's jails. Most will be deported to Mexico after serving their sentence. Arpaio has been an outspoken critic of illegal immigration and a supporter of Arizona's tough 2010 immigration law. He has faced criticism from Hispanic activists and lawmakers, alleging that his crackdown methods involve racial profiling. In this photo, undocumented immigrants "brunch" in the Maricopa County Tent City jail, April 30, 2010, in Phoenix.

Arpaio has been accused of abusing detainees in the holding cells of the Maricopa County Jail. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, detainees were reportedly fed spoiled food, and denied serious healthcare. A ruling in 2008 and later in 2010 required Arpaio to maintain humane facilities. In this photo, Arpaio is seen with a reporter outside his famous Tent City jail, May 3, 2010.

In this photo, Arpaio stands in front of his county jail the day Arizona's immigration enforcement law SB 1070 went into effect, on July 29, 2010, in Phoenix. Although U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton later suspended several controversial provisions of the so-called "show me your papers" law, Arpaio said he did not need the law in order to detain undocumented immigrants during his planned crime sweep in Phoenix. The Department of Justice filed a suit against Arpaio to coerce him into cooperating with their investigation. The suit was later settled in June 2011 after Arpaio, allowed employees in his department to be interviewed by officials.

Arpaio speaks to the media in front of his county jail, July 29, 2010, in Phoenix, the day Arizona's immigration enforcement law SB 1070 went into effect.

The Justice Department said in December 2011 that Arpaio has engaged in "a pattern or practice of misconduct that violates the Constitution and federal law," and a federal grand jury is investigating his office for abuse of power over its anti-public corruption investigations. Arpaio has also been criticized for allegedly inadequately investigating hundreds of sex crimes cases. Arpaio, right, is seen attending a rally for the Tea Party Express national tour, Oct. 22, 2010, in Phoenix.

In July 2012, Arpaio made an attempt to revive the controversy over President Barack Obama's birth certificate. Arpaio said at a news conference on July 17, 2012, that investigators working for him have concluded the document is not legitimate. So-called "birthers" maintain Obama is ineligible to be president because, they contend, he was born in Kenya. However, Hawaii officials have repeatedly verified Obama's citizenship, and courts have rebuffed lawsuits over the issue. Arizona's Democratic Party immediately insisted Arpaio was trying to draw attention away from problems within his own agency. In this July 17,2012, photo, Arpaio announces in Phoenix that President Obama's birth certificate, as presented by the White House in April 2011, is a forgery.

Arpaio will have to convince a federal judge who is presiding over his civil trial that he does not racially profile Latinos. The lawsuit heads to trial on July 19, 2012 and is expected to last until early August. The plaintiffs say Arpaio's officers based some traffic stops on the race of Hispanics who were in vehicles, had no probable cause to pull them over and made the stops so they could inquire about their immigration status. The plaintiffs aren't seeking money damages and instead are seeking a declaration that Arpaio's office racially profiles and an order that requires it to make changes to prevent what they said is discriminatory policing. If Arpaio loses the civil case, he won't face jail time or fines. In this photo, Arpaio's name plate and business cards sit on his desk at his office, April 17, 2009, in Phoenix.