Joe Arpaio Says He Can ‘Get Along Great With The Hispanics’

By Sarafina Wright and Amanda Terkel, Huffington Post Latino Voices

In the wake of his reelection to a sixth term as sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona, Joe Arpaio is ready to reach out to “the Hispanics” in the local community — who have generally not been a fan of the controversial official’s policies on immigration.

“I can get along great with the Hispanics,” he said in an interview with the Arizona Republic. “In fact, I sure would like to meet them, even the politicians, maybe in the back room or whatever, have a couple of beers and try to explain. But they need to understand that I enforce the laws. I want to listen to them and hear their problems. I want them to tell me what their problems are. Maybe we can come up with a solution.”

While Arpaio won his most recent election, he didn’t win overwhelmingly — 49.3 percent of the voters did not pick him — which may be why Arpaio is trying to show his “kinder, gentler” side. The long-time foe of undocumented immigration is…

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This article was first published in Huffington Post Latino Voices.

[Photo by DonkeyHotey]