'Law Is
Dead in America': Presidential Pardon of Sheriff
Joe Arpaio Widely Condemned
"Trump's pardon of Arpaio is an official
endorsement on racial profiling and the abuse of
immigrants and people of color."
By Jessica Corbett
August 26,
2017 "Information
Clearing House"
- Rights
groups, immigration activists, legal experts,
politicians, and others swiftly denounced
President Donald Trump's decision to pardon the
notorious former sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was
awaiting sentencing after being
convicted of
criminal contempt for violating a court order
that mandated he and his deputies stop racially
profiling Latinos in Maricopa County, Arizona.
"Trump's pardon of Arpaio is an official
endorsement on racial profiling and the abuse of
immigrants and people of color,"
said United We
Dream executive director Cristina Jimenez. "It
is also a slap in the face of the people in
Maricopa County who voted a racist,
anti-immigrant sheriff out of his job."
"Instead of a dog whistle, President Trump
picked up a bullhorn,"
said Vanita
Gupta, president and CEO of the Leadership
Conference on Civil and Human Rights. "This
pardon sends a dangerous message that a law
enforcement officer who abused his position of
power and defied a court order can simply be
excused by a president who himself clearly does
not respect the law."
"Once again, the president has acted in support
of illegal, failed immigration enforcement
practices that target people of color and that
have been struck down by the courts," American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) deputy legal
director Cecillia Wang, who sought the court
injunction against Arpaio,
told
Reuters.
Many
expressed concerns about the long-term legal
implications of Trump's decision.
The announcment followed
indications
from Trump that he was considering a pardon.
During a bizarre and long-winded
speech in Arizona
on Tuedsday night, the president
said that he
believed the former sheriff would be "just
fine."
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee
Sanders had
said earlier in
the week that Trump would make an announcement
at an "appropriate time," but the pardon was
announced Friday evening, as most media
attention was focused the category 4 Hurricane
Harvey
ravaging the
coasts of Texas and Louisiana.
The White
House statement said: "Throughout his time as
sheriff, Arpaio continued his life's work of
protecting the public from the scourges of crime
and illegal immigration," and "after more than
fifty years of admirable service to our nation,
he is a worthy candidate for a presidential
pardon."
Following
the official announcement, Trump called Arpaio a
"patriot" on Twitter.
Calling Trump "a
big supporter of law enforcement," Arpaio, who
has reportedly scheduled a press conference to
discuss the pardon,
told
Reuters on Friday: "I have to thank the
president for what he has done, that's for
sure."
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Later on Twitter, Arpaio did just that, in
addition to
tweeting a link
for supporters to make donations toward his
legal fees.
Serving as county
sheriff for 24 years, Arpaio, who
self-identifies as "America's toughest sheriff,"
gained national notoriety for his relentless
campaign against undocumented immigrants. He has
faced multiple legal
battles for
racially profiling Latinos, and violating county
residents' constitutional rights. Although he
was
ousted in the
election last year, Arpaio has become a
prominent media and political figure, and
stumped for
Trump during his campaign for president.
The
president's first pardon was met with strong and
widespread condemnation online.
This article was first published by
Common Dreams
-
