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Article published Oct 5, 2005
City rejects immigration measure
Proposal aimed to bar city employees from questioning status

By MATTHEW BENSON
MattBenson@coloradoan.com
The city of Fort Collins won't set limits on when its employees or police can ask residents whether they're in the country legally.

City Council rejected a measure Tuesday that would have barred city employees from asking individuals' immigration status except in specified cases. The so-called Human Rights Protection Ordinance failed on a 5-2 vote, with councilmen David Roy and Ben Manvel as the sole support.

"I think there are other means available," Councilwoman Karen Weitkunat said. "It does not need a law."

The ordinance was introduced in 2003 and has since gone through at least nine drafts, becoming one of the city's most emotional issues along the way. Tuesday was no different.

People on both sides of the matter packed City Hall, filling City Council's chambers and spilling into an adjoining room. Testimony and discussion stretched across three hours, with those testifying against the proposal outnumbering supporters 24-16.

Advocates argued the proposal would offer a measure of security to all residents - especially minorities and others who have come under increased immigration scrutiny since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

But opponents were just as vocal in calling the ordinance a sanctuary policy that would ask city employees to turn a blind eye to illegal aliens living in their midst.

In the end, the council opted for the status quo.

The proposed ordinance would have placed strict limits on when and how residents could be asked their immigration status.

Exemptions would have been offered in a handful of cases such as determining eligibility for government programs. Police could have asked about immigration status when it was essential to an investigation or prosecution of a crime, but not in cases of petty offenses or traffic infractions.

Critics said the measure would have tied the hands of law enforcement, and Chief Dennis Harrison has warned it could have made his officers unwitting criminals while doing their jobs.

Fort Collins resident Linda Knowlton told the council the measure "would not just turn a blind eye to lawbreakers in our midst, but would reward them with sanctuary."

But proponents said the ordinance was more about human rights and dignity than sanctuary. Without the assurance offered by the ordinance, they argued, illegal immigrants often are so fearful of deportation that they won't report crimes or seek medical help.

"This allows people of this community to understand they're accepted members of this community," said Blane Harding, a Colorado State University professor and member of the task force that helped author the ordinance. "To me, it makes sure people have the ability to live life without fear."

But the council ultimately sided with concerns that approving the ordinance would have left the implicit impression that the city looks the other way when it comes to immigration violations.

"Where is the respect for the laws of this country?" asked Councilman Diggs Brown.

He and Councilman Kurt Kastein noted the strain that illegal immigrants place on city services that already are at risk as the city cuts $5 million from its 2006 budget.

"We're in a budget crunch now," Brown said. "We can barely afford to take care of ourselves."