Former inmate in Arpaio’s jail condemns pardon

A former inmate, who spent a year in former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s jail, strongly condemned President Trump decision to pardon the sheriff, saying he was “disgusted, dispirited and disappointed in the American political system,” after the announcement. 

“How ironic it is, that the immigrant who committed a minor criminal act has to live with a conviction on his record for the rest of his life, while a criminal like Arpaio gets to walk away unscathed for his crimes, which are greater in scale and severity,” Francisco Chairez, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico, wrote in the Washington Post on Saturday. 

{mosads}”The people of Maricopa County have done so much — spent time, money and energy — trying to let the world know what Arpaio had done. And in a single moment, Trump has destroyed all of that hard work, all of those voices,” Chairez continued. 

“The president should be bringing us together, especially in the wake of something like Charlottesville, but I think that Trump wants us to be divided, specifically by race. Arpaio’s pardon is proof of that,” he added. 

Chairez was convicted of driving under the influence, and sent to Arpaio’s jail. 

He wrote about his experience in the jail, which included staying in Arpaio’s infamous “tent city.”

Inmates were kept in tents despite the scorching heat in the summer and frigid cold in the winter, and were often refused basic necessities. 

Chairez’s comments come a day after the White House announced Trump would pardon Arpaio, who was found guilty of racially profiling Latinos in Arizona. 

The sheriff was convicted of criminal contempt last month for disobeying a federal judge’s order on detaining individuals suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.