Thread: Chieftain Repeated "Sanctuary City" Canard about D

Chieftain repeated "sanctuary city" canard about Denver, falsely claimed state patrol not enforcing immigration law

Summary: An editorial in The Pueblo Chieftain asserted inaccurately that Denver police "cannot ask whether someone stopped for a legitimate reason is a legal citizen," and that "the same goes for the State Patrol." In propagating the myth that Denver and Colorado provide "sanctuary," the Chieftain ignored numerous sources stating the contrary, the Denver Police Department Operations Manual, and the patrol's creation of an immigration-specific enforcement unit.

In a September 17 editorial, The Pueblo Chieftain stated falsely that "Denver has fashioned itself as a 'sanctuary city,' " adding that Denver "cops cannot ask whether someone stopped for a legitimate reason is a legal citizen." In fact, as Colorado Media Matters repeatedly has noted, Denver is not a sanctuary city, according to numerous sources including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Moreover, the newspaper did not note that the Denver Police Department Operations Manual (updated July 30, 200 explicitly directs that "when a suspect believed to be an undocumented immigrant is arrested for other charges, a 'Refer to Immigration' charge will be added to the original charges. Sheriff's Department personnel will then notify the [Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement] authorities according to their procedures."

In addition to its assertions about Denver police, the Chieftain claimed, "Unbelievably, the same goes for the [Colorado] State Patrol." In fact, the agency includes an Immigration Enforcement Unit created in 2006 specifically to "enforce immigration law in connection with individuals they encounter while performing their normal duties as state troopers," according to the unit's FAQ page on the CSP website.

In stating that "[p]eople in the Denver metro area are up in arms over two cases of men believed to be illegal immigrants who were involved in a couple of traffic crashes, one that killed three people," the Chieftain referred to a September 4 auto accident allegedly caused by Francis Hernandez, an illegal immigrant reportedly arrested 16 times in Colorado but never deported. As Colorado Media Matters noted, conservative columnist Chuck Green on September 10 similarly referenced the accident to assert that Hernandez "was in the United States illegally, guarded by the sanctuary policies" of President Bush, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.

Contrary to the Chieftain's assertion that the CSP is not enforcing immigration law, according to a September 10 Rocky Mountain News article, "At the Colorado Department of Public Safety, 23 troopers were specially trained last year to enforce immigration laws during routine traffic stops." Further, in an article headlined "State patrol marks successful first year in illegal immigrant arrests," the Summit Daily News reported on July 30 that the unit had arrested hundreds of criminal or undocumented foreign nationals during that time:

The Colorado State Patrol's immigration-enforcement unit was formed in July 2007, after new legislation provided funding for troopers to undergo special training from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The new unit is comprised of 19 troopers, three sergeants and one section commander spread across Colorado.

"From an ICE standpoint, it is an extremely productive partnership," ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok said. "It acts as a force multiplier for us, because now troopers can enforce immigration laws while doing their day-to-day duties."

In its first year of operation, the new unit made 42 human-smuggling arrests, 183 criminal-alien arrests, and 782 undocumented foreign-nationals arrests statewide.

Moreover, no Colorado jurisdiction appeared in a 2006 CRS report about immigration law listing "[c]ities and counties currently that have sanctuary policies." In fact, CRS singled out Colorado in its August 30, 2007, update to the report as a jurisdiction that has "taken steps to reject what they characterize as 'sanctuary policies.' " The 2007 report described a Colorado statute enacted May 1, 2006, that prohibits sanctuary policies, which the statute defines as "local government ordinances or policies that prohibit local officials, including peace officers, from communicating or cooperating with federal officials with regard to the immigration status of any person within the state."

Further, as Colorado Media Matters has noted, Rusnok reportedly has said he knows of "no Colorado city that has a policy against calling ICE."

From the September 17 editorial in The Pueblo Chieftain, "Pointing fingers":

People in the Denver metro area are up in arms over two cases of men believed to be illegal immigrants who were involved in a couple of traffic crashes, one that killed three people.

Gov. Bill Ritter has ordered a review of gaps in immigration enforcement. He told the Department of Public Safety to look for solutions that state and local agencies can enforce, saying the federal government has failed to do its job.

Indeed, immigration reform became the hot-button topic in Washington in the past couple of years, but the divide between various schools of thought ended in gridlock. Some wanted to deport all illegal immigrants back to their home countries, while others insisted on erecting a wall between the United States and Mexico. Still others wanted to make it possible for those here illegally to pay fines and become citizens.

Meanwhile, Congress failed to adjust the number of allowable legal immigrants that business says it needs to keep the economy on track. It's a sad truth that too many native-born Americans, no matter their ethnicity, decline to take certain jobs, and there are other technical and professional jobs that aren't being filled by American citizens.

So, in the metro area we've seen that Denver has fashioned itself as a "sanctuary city," where cops cannot ask whether someone stopped for a legitimate reason is a legal citizen. Unbelievably, the same goes for the State Patrol. Local officials around the state have complained that when they have called Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents about a suspected illegal immigrant in custody, no ICE agent shows up, and the suspect is released. This situation has become an exercise in finger-pointing.

Following the governor's order, an ICE spokesman said the federal agency would cooperate in the state review.

— E.B.

http://colorado.mediamatters.org/items/200809170002

WOW a whole 23 officers, versus what like 600,000 IA's in Denver alone.

they are really trying hard to not be a sanctuary city.