Bob Barr’s Republican congressional campaign announced Thursday that he is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser next month with Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona, a lightning rod in the debate over immigration enforcement.
Nicknamed “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” Arpaio’s aggressive tactics for cracking down on illegal immigration have won him praise and criticism from across the country.
In 2012, the U.S. Justice Department filed suit against Arpaio, alleging his Maricopa County office had discriminated against Hispanics with its enforcement efforts. A year later, a federal judge ruled in a separate suit that Arpaio’s office had singled out Hispanics. The Obama administration has also stripped Arpaio’s office of authority to help enforce federal immigration laws through the 287(g) program. Under the program, law enforcement officials are given the power to question people about their legal status, serve arrest warrants, and detain and transport criminals for immigration violations
Arpaio is also known for using chain gangs to provide free labor for communities and for making his inmates wear pink underwear and pink handcuffs. His office has also won praise for starting rehabilitation programs for detainees.
Barr’s Feb. 6 fundraiser is set to include a private reception and barbecue dinner at a firearms store in Smyrna.
Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, criticized Barr for inviting Arpaio to the event.
“Sheriff Arpaio is an embarrassment to law enforcement communities all over the country with the things he has been doing in Arizona,” Gonzalez said, adding about Barr: “Attaching himself to the Arpaio legacy like that I think is a discredit to himself.”
Through a campaign spokesman, Barr called Arpaio a friend and a “law enforcement hero.”
“Bob is aware of the Department of Justice investigation, but it does not in any way affect the high regard and respect he has for Sheriff Arpaio,” said Derek Barr, Barr’s son and campaign manager. “Bob is confident that the message ‘America’s Toughest Sheriff’ will bring will be widely supported here in Georgia.”
Arpaio’s campaign manager, Chad Willems, said Arpaio is appealing the federal judge’s ruling from last year.
“Sadly, some groups have taken it upon themselves to claim some moral authority on these issues,” Willems said. “The Justice Department has unfairly attacked the sheriff for political purposes.”
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