Thread: Immigrants stir up Greeley

denver & the west
Immigrants stir up Greeley

By Monte Whaley
The Denver Post
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com

Article Last Updated: 10/02/2007 02:39:20 AM MDT
http://origin.denverpost.com/news/ci_7056860

Some say a forum hosted by the DA was more about politics. Others say the effect on crime is a real issue.
greeley Roy Johnson is happy somebody is going to do something about the murderers, rapists, thieves and thugs that District Attorney Ken Buck says are sneaking into Weld County from Mexico.

That's why Johnson - a longtime Greeley resident - cheered with hundreds of others last month at a forum put on by Buck to pump up support for a federal immigration enforcement office in the city.

Buck says he arranged the forum at the Weld County Fairgrounds, at no expense to taxpayers, because he finds it hard to get his message out that more resources are needed to fight lawbreaking undocumented workers.

"I decided to take my case directly to the people," he said.

Regardless, a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement office is coming to Greeley by the end of the year. The office will investigate and deport illegal immigrants linked to serious crimes.

An ICE agent works out of the Weld County Jail, but it isn't known how many agents will work in the new office, said Greeley Police Chief Jerry Garner.

That leads some detractors to claim there were other motives behind the gathering at a sweltering 4-H building in a predominantly Latino area.

The sight of the flag of the Minutemen - a volunteer organization that independently patrols the Mexico/ U.S. border looking for illegal entrants - erected next to the Stars and Stripes startled Jasmin Corral.

"I thought, 'What am I getting into?"' said Corral, an elementary education student at the University of Northern Colorado. She spoke at a meeting held last week at UNC to discuss the district attorney's meeting.

Corral and other Latinos in Greeley said the forum stoked already heated racial tensions.

"It's clear it was like the old rallies in Germany that promoted the idea that Jews were vermin and the root of all problems," said Jose Suarez, professor of Hispanic studies at UNC, who did not attend Buck's meeting.

It also smacked of politics, said critics. Buck - a Republican - is accused of using the forum to gain credentials among conservatives for a run at a higher office and to promote a like-minded slate of candidates for local seats.

Those suspicious of Buck's intentions include Mayor Tom Selders. He told federal officials earlier that raids like the one in December at Greeley's Swift meatpacking plant by ICE agents - where 261 arrests were made - hurt communities because they tear apart families.

"I've heard from plenty of people who said Ken Buck is using his office to further his own agenda," said Selders. "It just doesn't seem that this forum was very productive for Greeley or for the problems surrounding immigration in this country."

Buck denied the forum was part of a larger plan to gain political stature. "Some people can't deal with the fact that this was an effort to try and make Weld County safer," he said.

A throng that included farmers, ranchers and some on the mailing list of the newly formed Northern Colorado Conservative Alliance were shown photos of illegal immigrants convicted of murder, attempted murder, DUI and identity theft. Only law enforcement officials and victims of crimes were allowed to speak.

Many praised the prosecutor's effort.

It took courage for Buck to put on the forum, said Joy Breuer, who runs the Greeley For God ministry. "Maybe now the word will get around that we are getting our act together and they (illegal immigrants) will go somewhere else."

Roy Johnson also feels something needs to be done. "I've got nothing against someone coming into this country by the front door and doing for themselves. But there are problems with crime and health issues with illegal immigrants, and we've got to deal with it."

Greeley saw its immigrant population grow by 60 percent - to 11,907 from 7,421 - from 2000 to 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The bureau does not track immigration status, so there is no way to tell how many of those were documented and how many weren't.

Buck said the vast majority of immigrants are hardworking and law-abiding, but some are here illegally. And the Weld County Jail continues to operate over its capacity, due in part to foreign-born inmates, said Weld County Sheriff John Cooke.

The jail was over its average capacity by 216 inmates from January though July. Of the total population of 633 inmates, 113 were foreign-born, Cooke said.

He doesn't know how many, if any, of those are illegal immigrants. The identities of foreign-born inmates are simply turned over to ICE for a determination of their immigration status.

Housing them costs about $2.4 million a year. Whether those who are here illegally are put in the custody of ICE agents and deported often depends on the severity of their offenses, said DA spokeswoman Jennifer Finch.

ICE has worked in concert with local officials to detain and deport 11 known gang members in Greeley who were illegal immigrants, Finch said.

An ICE office in town is justified because not all immigrants coming into Greeley to work on farms and in construction are law-abiding, said Garner, the police chief.

Others still aren't buying it, including Latino activist Ricardo Romero. "My only question is, why are they trying to make us the scapegoats?"

"But I do know this," he added. "If we can't learn to live together ... this place will just come apart."

"I've heard from plenty of people who said Ken Buck is using his office to further his own agenda," said Selders. "It just doesn't seem that this forum was very productive for Greeley or for the problems surrounding immigration in this country."

Funny, so how is doing what your constituents want constitutes as "persuing his own agenda"? Answer, IT DOESN'T YOU MORON!
He is doing what the majority of Americans nationwide want their elected officials to do!

a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement office is coming to Greeley by the end of the year. The office will investigate and deport illegal immigrants linked to serious crimes.

Only those linked to crime or all illegal immigrants ?


"scapegoats" "scapegoats"
LOL
ya right
making scapegoats was the goal all along