Thread: Colorado Immigration hearing riles activists

http://www.rockymountainnews.com

Immigration hearing riles activists
By Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News
August 29, 2006

A Senate Budget Committee field hearing on the cost of immigration policies, scheduled for Wednesday in Aurora, has stirred up opposition from local advocacy groups on both sides of the issue.

Activists involved in local immigrant rallies this spring plan to protest outside the afternoon hearing, which will be led by U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., at the Aurora Municipal Center.

More than 10 local community groups who work with immigrants sought to testify at the hearing but were denied, according to Lisa Duran, executive director of Rights for All People, which is organizing the protest.

"We are very concerned that the hearing will be a one-sided, biased presentation that will attempt to justify an enforcement-only approach to this broken immigration system," Duran said Monday.

To counter the Allard event, pro- immigrant advocates plan to hold their own hearing tonight in Denver to show the human face of immigration and the contributions immigrants make to society.

About 10 people are expected to testify at the 6 p.m. event in the St. Joseph's Redemptorist Church gymnasium, said Gabriela Flora of the American Friends Service Committee.

Local organizations pushing for stricter enforcement of immigration laws also are angry about the Senate hearing.

Fred Elbel, co-chairman of Defend Colorado Now, said he called Allard's office more than a week ago asking to speak at the hearing but was denied.

He wanted to present his group's recent study about the cost of illegal immigration in Colorado, which ties into the hearing's focus: the budget impact of current and proposed immigration policies.

Robert Copley Jr., a local Minutemen activist, complained that local groups aren't being allowed to speak at the hearing.

"It's kind of like one of those town hall meetings where the town's not invited," he said.

A spokeswoman for Allard said the hearing has a strict format and speakers had to be approved by the Senate Budget Committee.

The nine scheduled speakers include Gov. Bill Owens, Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer, Mesa County Chief Deputy District Attorney Dan Rubenstein and Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Robert Rector.

Immigration hearings

• TODAY: American Friends Service Committee, 6 p.m., St. Joseph's Redemptorist Church gymnasium, 605 W. Sixth Ave.

• WEDNESDAY: Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., 2:30 p.m., Aurora City Council Chambers, 1515 E. Alameda Parkway, Aurora

http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_4253515

Immigration hearings set in Colo.

By Anne C. Mulkern
Denver Post Staff Writer
DenverPost.com

Washington - A U.S. House committee comes to Greeley on Friday to examine how immigration legislation before Congress would affect college tuition.

It will be the secondcongressional hearing in Colorado this week focusing on an aspect of immigration. The first is Wednesday in Aurora, to be chaired by Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo.

The Senate and House have passed varying versions of immigration-reform legislation, and normally a conference committee would work out differences in the bills. Instead, Republicans have scheduled a series of field hearings around the country, saying they need to inform the public about what's in the bills.

"We're going to point out things that we don't like and point out things that we do like," said Guy Short, chief of staff for Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo.

Musgrave will lead Friday's hearing with Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif.

Many in favor of reform legislation - including Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo. - have called the hearings a stalling tactic.

"What we need is a conference committee, not more hearings," said Salazar spokesman Drew Nannis.

Friday's hearing by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce will look at a provision in the Senate bill that would allow states to offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. Currently, the practice is banned unless a state offers the same in-state rate to all U.S. citizens.

Nannis noted that the Senate bill simply would allow states to set their own policies for tuition.

The hearing will be at 9 a.m. in the Panorama Room at the University of Northern Colorado.

Musgrave and McKeon will hold another meeting at 11:30 a.m. in the Loveland City Council chambers, to discuss provisions of immigration legislation requiring employers to verify that all workers have the legal right to work in the U.S.

To counter the Allard event, pro- immigrant advocates plan to hold their own hearing tonight in Denver to show the human face of immigration and the contributions immigrants make to society

.
And you can let American taxpayers know how fortunate they are to be spending billions of dollars on illegal aliens.
These people have no shame.