Babeu does damage control over gay lover allegations, but questions still remain
Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu, an immigration policy hardliner, dealt with the issue differently in his personal life. (Flickr: Gage Skidmore)
By JORDAN FABIAN
Channel: Politics
Last week, Pinal County (Ariz.) Sheriff Paul Babeu was riding high: a state co-chairman for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, he was also a favorite to win a seat in Congress as a Republican.
But all of that changed this weekend, when explosive allegations came out that the immigration hardliner threatened to have a former gay lover — a Mexican immigrant who doubled as a campaign volunteer — deported after their relationship fell apart.
Babeu stepped down from his position on the Romney campaign, but he continued to face pressure from friends and foes alike. Maricopa County (Ariz.) Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a fellow immigration hawk, distanced himself from Babeu. One Latino group pressured the Justice Department to open an investigation of the sheriff for abuse of power and a Latino Republican group called on him to drop out of his congressional race.
But Babeu has remained defiant. He has denied the allegations made by his ex-lover, a man named “Jose” (other than the fact he is gay and they had a relationship). He went on the offensive on Monday, appearing on CNN to accuse his political opponents of planting the story. And he’s made it abundantly clear he’s not dropping out of the congressional race. He even went as far as to endorse same-sex marriage, even though he’s running in a very conservative district.
While Babeu’s sexual orientation has understandably grabbed the headlines (there are no openly gay GOP members of Congress), the sheriff has yet to square his beliefs on immigration policy with his personal conduct.
Immigration enforcement, not gay rights, has been the defining issue of Babeu’s political career. He is a staunch supporter of his state’s SB 1070 immigration crackdown law, which requires law enforcement officials to verify an individual’s immigration status during a lawful stop or arrest if it is suspected the person is in the U.S. illegally.
On CNN, the sheriff accused “Jose,” who has not revealed his identity for fear of reprisals, of committing “several crimes … against me and my campaign,” alleging he engaged in identity theft by hacking websites and social media tools associated with his congressional campaign.
But Babeu never filed charges against “Jose” and he never asked about his immigration status because he assumed he was in the country legally, something that “Jose” also says is true.
“One, he’s legal. He has said that. I have said that. And then, in addition, this whole thing about deportation, we all know I don’t have deportation authority. I have the authority to arrest,” Babeu said.
It’s true that Babeu cannot deport anyone unilaterally. But under 1070, he would have the authority to arrest and check “Jose’s” immigration status, which could have initiated immigration proceedings at the federal level if it turned out he was in the country illegally.
And as CNN reported, there appear to be some questions about “Jose’s” immigration status. The network’s Miguel Marquez reported that he is in the U.S. legally on a ten-year, multiple-entry tourist visa and was also running a business.
“But it doesn’t add up,” said Marquez. “Immigration experts say you can’t come and go for months at a time on a tourist visa and you can only run a business in a very limited way.”
Babeu’s own attorney allegedly had suspicions about the immigration status of “Jose,” whose attorney told CNN that Babeu’s lawyer accused the former volunteer of being in the U.S. illegally on an expired student visa.
Marquez noted that even though “Jose” did not produce a passport for CNN, he would likely not be talking to a television network if he was not in the country legally.
“He may be legal now, but the big question here is whether he was legal all the way along?” said Marquez.
The saga has also presented a serious question for Babeu: how could a politician who believes in staunch immigration enforcement be so casual about the issue in his personal life?
What, if anything, does it say about the viability of Arizona’s immigration law?
Though Babeu and “Jose” are looking to put the incident behind them, there are still more questions that need to be answered.
