Arizona immigrant rights leader slams Trumps pardon of ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio
“America’s most racist sheriff”
Tucson, AZ – Regarding the August 25 pardon that President Trump gave to the ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio, Stteffanny Cott from the Tucson immigrant rights action group L.U.P.E. said, “The truth is Sheriff Joe Arpaio, America’s most racist sheriff, used the Sheriff Department of Maricopa County to racially profile Latino and Chicano communities and violently contributed to the criminalization of immigrants and the separation of working class families.”
Cott continues, “He was found guilty by a U.S district judge of disregarding a 2011 Arizona judge order to stop using Maricopa sheriff department for immigration enforcement. The pardon by president Trump is a direct offense and attack against the immigrants’ rights movement of Southern Arizona. This action, combined with the recent attacks against DACA, are clear signs of Trump's coercive anti-immigrant agenda to further criminalize, imprison and deport all undocumented immigrants.”
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is the executive action that President Obama implemented in 2012, which has temporarily shielded hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrant youth from deportation and allowed them to get temporary work permits and drivers licenses.
“Today more than ever, we must continue to fight for a just and humane immigration reform, that legalizes all undocumented immigrants, stops the militarization of the border, stops all repressive programs like SB1070, Operation Streamline, Secure Communities, and stops the expansion of guest worker programs,” concluded Cott.