ALBUQUERQUE — Few of President Trump’s actions have touched a nerve among Latinos across the political spectrum in the United States quite like his pardon of Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff who was found guilty of criminal contempt after defying a federal judge’s order to stop targeting Latinos based solely on suspicion of their immigration status.
And this from a president who has called Mexican immigrants rapists, attacked a judge over his “Mexican heritage” and repeatedly vowed that Mexico, instead of American taxpayers, would pay for a wall on the southern border.
Artemio Muniz, the chairman of the Texas Federation of Hispanic Republicans, said Friday night that he was “beyond disgusted” by the pardon, saying on Twitter that the move essentially placed Mr. Arpaio above the law. “Conservatives who claim rule of law are #fakenews.”
Such reactions to Mr. Trump’s pardon reflect the enduring outrage over Mr. Arpaio’s actions as the longtime sheriff of Maricopa County, which encompasses Phoenix. Before his ouster by voters in November, Mr. Arpaio gained notoriety as an immigration hard-liner and one of Mr. Trump’s most prominent supporters in the Southwest.
