Former Arizona sheriff Paul Babeu rips show guest on deportation views
Feb 22, 2017, 3:20 PM | Updated: 7:51 pm
(Screenshot)
(Screenshot)
A former sheriff from Arizona got hot under the collar on television Tuesday night defending Homeland Security’s new deportation guidelines.
Paul Babeu, who was sheriff of Pinal County from 2008-2016, exchanged heated words with ex-Labor Secretary Robert Reich during an interview on CNN about immigration policies. Reich questioned inaccurate data on crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
“Have you ever, Mr. Reich, ever met with, talked to, American citizens who have had a family member murdered by a criminal illegal? Have you?” an agitated Babeu asked.
When Reich said he had not, Babeu said, “I have.”
Ex-sheriff on Trump immigration plan: Americans are tired of being ignored… law and order is going to be restored https://t.co/mqmQlWCpbp
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) February 22, 2017
The two finished the 7-minute talk with another lippy tradeoff:
“Why do you have to live in a fact-free universe?” Reich asked.
“Why do you have to live in an ivory tower?” Babeu retorted.
Earlier in the interview, Babeu said President Donald Trump was targeting, “the million criminal illegals, 74 percent of which have felony convictions. Those aren’t regular illegals, they aren’t regular people in our neighborhoods. A lot of them are very serious criminals.”
Reich asked whether a focus on immigration was helpful for law enforcement when there were other problems.
“… If you’re so concerned with this now … then why the hell haven’t you done something about it the past eight years? Why haven’t you arrested these people, stood up for the American people, put us first, and prioritize our safety and security?”
Reich, who is a public policy professor at UC Berkeley, worked under three presidents — Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. He has not worked in government since 1996, although he ran for governor of Massachusetts in 2002.
Babeu, who ran for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District in the 2016 election, was an early supporter of President Donald Trump’s candidacy, sharing similar views on border and national security and immigration.
