Rick Perry defends embattled Sheriff Arpaio
Maricopa County Sherriff Joe Arpaio is at the center of a civil rights controversy after the Justice Department released a report detailing a history of racial profiling against Latinos. (Flickr: Gage Skidmore)
By JORDAN FABIAN
Channel: Politics
Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry is standing behind embattled Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who’s been accused by the Justice Department of committing a litany of civil rights violations against Latinos.
Perry, the Texas governor who received Arpaio’s endorsement, suggested that the Obama administration is guilty of carrying out a political smear campaign against the sheriff and attacked the president’s record on border security.
“I don’t know what all the details are, but I do know this: nothing surprises me out of this administration. This administration oversaw ‘Fast and Furious,’” Perry said during an interview with Fox News on Thursday. ”I would suggest to you that these people are out after Sheriff Joe. He is tough.”
Arpaio was thrust into the spotlight after the Justice Department issued a detailed, 22-page report Thursday alleging that his office had engaged in a pattern of racial profiling and discrimination against Latinos, particularly in immigration raids.
The sheriff’s endorsement was highly coveted by some GOP presidential candidates because of his reputation as an immigration hard liner. But Perry has now come under scrutiny over whether his ties to Arpaio could hurt him, especially in the eyes of Latino voters.
Arpaio has been at the forefront of enforcing Arizona’s controversial immigration crackdown law, which has become highly unpopular among Latinos nationwide. Perry, who has said that he wouldn’t have passed an Arizona-style law in Texas, claimed that he would not interfere with similar measures as president.
“When I’m the president of the United States, you’re not going to see me going after states like Arizona or Alabama; suing sovereign states for making decisions, particularly because the federal government has been an abject failure at securing the border,” he said.
Arpaio defended himself in a similar way, saying Thursday that the timing of the report’s release was a politically-motivated “surprise attack.”
“Don’t come here and use me as the whipping boy for a national and international problem,” he said.
