In November, Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson was named an honorary chair of President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign in Massachusetts. Now, an investigation by the American Civil Liberties Union found that Hodgson has kept a close correspondence with Stephen Miller, Trump’s controversial immigration advisor.
"You do think over time that you’ve gotten accustomed to the things that are cringeworthy and obsequious,” said Andrea Cabral, former Suffolk County Sheriff and Secretary of Public Safety, Thursday on Boston Public Radio. "I’m actually glad to be able to say I was shocked at how fawning those emails were, to someone like Stephen Miller."
The letters, obtained by the ACLU and published by The Boston Globe’s Yvonne Abraham, show that Hodgson was eager to flatter Miller, going as far as to notify him of pro-immigrant leaflets found in his own church.
Hodgson has faced criticism, including multiple lawsuits, over his treatment of Bristol County inmates. With the letters obtained by the ACLU, critics have questioned whether Hodgson is vying for a higher position in the Trump administration.
"There’s no question about how and what Stephen Miller is and what he has done to children, and to undocumented immigrants who’ve committed no crime and have presented themselves to the border for political asylum,” Cabral said. "To admire someone like that … as a public official, using your public email, is really shocking.”
News of Hodgson’s emails comes just weeks after separate emails found that Miller, the president’s senior policy advisor, pushed for alt-right website Breitbart to promote white supremacist literature.
