Joe Arpaio Says He'll Never Apologize For Racially Profiling Latinos

“An apology for doing my job? That would never happen,” the pardoned former sheriff tells Univision News.
LOADINGERROR LOADING

Now that President Donald Trump has pardoned Joe Arpaio for violating the terms of a 2011 court order in a racial profiling case, the disgraced former Arizona sheriff has no interest in looking back and seeing what he might have done differently.

In a chilling interview with Univision News, Arpaio said that he will “never” apologize for how his hunt for undocumented immigrants in Maricopa County inflicted fear on the Latino community.

“An apology for doing my job? That would never happen,” Arpaio told the network. “I think if I stood on a big tower and I screamed at everyone, at all Hispanics, and I said that I disagreed with all the deportations and said ‘I love you all,’ it wouldn’t make any difference.”

Arpaio’s pardon came a few weeks before Trump’s announcement last Tuesday that he was repealing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals in six months unless Congress could make a deal to help the 800,000 “Dreamers” affected by the policy.

He sees no problem with the timing of the two decisions, but suggests the Dreamers “must wait a little and have some confidence in the president.”

“By the way, I’m not a Dreamer,” he said. “My mother and father came here legally from Italy. I’m a U.S. citizen, proud to be a citizen of the United States. My whole life was dedicated to defending my country. So I think [Trump] knows what he’s doing. I back him up on that. I back him up on anything he does, OK?”

The 85-year-old Arpaio was defeated for re-election in November after serving seven terms as sheriff.

During his 23 years on the job, Arpaio was accused of racially profiling Latinos and engaging in unlawful policiing.

Athough the Justice Department found that Arpaio’s officers called Latinos “wetbacks,” “Mexican bitches,” “fucking Mexicans” and “stupid Mexicans,” he doesn’t think his reputation as the department’s leader suffered with that demographic.

“I don’t really think they hate me when you get right down to it. I get threats. But I don’t get the threats from the Hispanics,” he added.

Read the full story at Univision.com.

Before You Go

America Ferrera Did Not Mince Her Words At The Women's March

13 Times Latinos Refused To Stay Silent During Trump's First 100 Days

Close

What's Hot