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Immigrant issue stirs Greeley
The costs and need for an immigration enforcement office in Colorado Springs and Greeley will be studied.
By Monte Whaley
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:10/02/2006 08:46:28 PM MDT
A controversy in Greeley that rallied immigration advocates as well as foes of illegal immigration last year is far from over.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is being asked to study the costs and the need for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, suboffices in Greeley and Colorado Springs. The cost evaluation is part of an amendment attached to the final Homeland Security Appropriations Bill that passed the U.S. Senate on Friday.

U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard successfully attached the amendment, which requires the assistant secretary for ICE to submit the cost and needs analysis to Congress.

Allard said he will meet with ICE officials later this month to determine when the report will commence.

"I look forward to working with ICE and to get necessary resources in place to ensure that our immigration laws are enforced in Colorado," Allard said.

Many Latino leaders reacted angrily late last year when Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck began pursuing the ICE office. ICE investigates, detains and sometimes deports illegal immigrants who have committed major crimes in U.S. cities.

Weld County officials said an ICE office was needed in Greeley because a large number of illegal immigrants were committing crimes locally.
But activists said an ICE presence would be used to intimidate law-abiding Latinos in Greeley.

The issue drew a huge crowd at a Greeley City Council meeting in December where groups wearing stickers proclaiming "We Want ICE" argued with those carrying signs that read "No ICE Walls."

The issue seemingly died because there is a lack of funding for any new ICE offices, according to federal officials.

Buck agreed that Friday's passage of Allard's amendment is still no guarantee money will be found for an ICE facility. "But it is an important first step," he said.

Sylvia Martinez, who leads the group Latinos Unidos, which opposes an ICE office in Greeley, said she hopes the federal study will show that ICE is not needed in her city.

"I'm banking on that a neutral, unbiased study will reveal an ICE office is something we don't need," Martinez said.

"I'm hoping," she adds, "the federal government will see reality."

Buck, however, says hundreds of residents have told him a branch of ICE will be put to good use in Weld County.

"I saw a great amount of support for an ICE office then," Buck said, "and I see the same amount of support now."

Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or at mwhaley@denverpost.com.