A former Arizona sheriff running for Senate — who was once convicted for racially profiling Latinos — said if President Donald Trump supported a bill allowing thousands of young undocumented immigrants to stay in the country, he would back the legislation as well.
“Well, first of all, if I was a senator now and the President really wanted this, I probably would back him up on it because I really do respect his judgment,” Joe Arpaio, a Republican, told CNN’s Kyung Lah. “I have a lot issues where I support the President.”
Arpaio, who on Tuesday announced his Senate candidacy, was defeated in the 2016 election after 24 years in office as Maricopa County sheriff. He was convicted last year of criminal contempt for defying a court order to stop racially profiling Latinos but was pardoned by Trump, whose presidential campaign Arpaio had supported, in August before serving any jail time.
On Tuesday, Trump met at the White House with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to discuss immigration reform, including a permanent fix to the expiring Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
At the end of the session, Trump suggested that ultimately, he would sign whatever he was presented with.
“I think my positions are going to be what the people in this room come up with,” Trump said. “If they come to me with things I’m not in love with, I’m going to do it. Because I respect them.”
Asked during the White House briefing by CNN’s Jim Acosta whether Trump is demanding border wall funding in exchange for a DACA deal, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders would only say: “The President wants border security.”
