Thread: Denver City Illegals Fear Fallout

http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local ... 12,00.html

City's illegals fear fallout
Search for slaying suspect puts focus on immigrants

By Jennifer Miller, Rocky Mountain News
May 14, 2005

A wave of worry is passing through Denver's undocumented workers, some of whom fear they may come under scrutiny as the city mourns the death of a decorated detective, allegedly at the hands of an illegal immigrant.

"We're considered delinquents because we're illegal," Eduardo Burquez said. "But just because we're illegal doesn't mean we're all bad.

With the slaying and subsequent manhunt, concentrated on the massive immigrant population in Los Angeles, the immigration debate has returned to the forefront of public discussion.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Littleton, has taken to the airwaves, arguing that Denver police need to crack down on illegal immigrants. He believes officers should work with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement when conducting routine traffic stops.

But several of the city's illegal workers said Friday they hope the community will leave them be. Many have come here to work to support families and don't want to be painted with a broad brush.

"We come here to work honestly, to help people in our country," said Flor Monroy, of Michoacan, Mexico.

Monroy and several other women have formed a group called Queens of Clean and arrive at a nonprofit labor center most mornings hoping for work.

Manuel Martinez, of Chihuahua, Mexico, said Friday that many companies in his native city have packed up and moved to China. He earned about $10 a day until the businesses folded. Here, he said, he makes about $60 to $70 for three days of work.

He takes the jobs to support his wife and two children.

"We come here risking everything, crossing deserts and mountains," Martinez said. "I wish they would give us temporary permits to work."

Monroy, who is 60, said if illegal immigrants had ID cards, it might help the government keep tabs on them.

"If they don't give us IDs, how will they know who we are?" she said. "There's plenty of good people here. They should get IDs, so people know where they come from."

Many of the immigrants inside Centro Humanitario on California Street said Friday that those who break the law or use drugs should face consequences.

"The ones who drink or do drugs should be deported," Monroy said.

But they also pointed out that they have been victims of crimes as well.

Samuel Lopez, 38, who works odd jobs in Denver and crosses the border home every year, said he was beaten up while on a job laying cement because he told supervisors some co-workers had been leaving on a daily basis to get high.

In regard to the shooting of Denver Detective Donald Young, Lopez said, "The one who committed the crime should pay. But it would be unjust to go after ones that don't harm others."

Several undocumented residents of Denver say they already don't drive because they fear prosecution.

Martinez said he doesn't drive but having a license would help him look for a job, instead of having to rely on employers who show up to day labor centers.

Phil Harpole, employment director at the nonprofit Centro Humanitario, says illegal immigrants are often taken advantage of by employers who promise to pay them "tomorrow."

For those who say it's immoral to be here illegally, he asks, "Is it illegal not to pay people?"

Harpole said hearing Tancredo's arguments concerns him.

"We're all immigrants," he said.

Monroy and several other women have formed a group called Queens of Clean and arrive at a nonprofit labor center most mornings hoping for work.

TAX-FREE Work?

"If they don't give us IDs, how will they know who we are?" she said. "There's plenty of good people here. They should get IDs, so people know where they come from."

We don't CARE WHO you are! You are NOT SUPPOSED to be here!

Samuel Lopez, 38, who works odd jobs in Denver and crosses the border home every year,

BORDER? WHAT BORDER?

Several undocumented residents of Denver say they already don't drive because they fear prosecution.

Good, following our laws a strange feeling for you?!

"We're all immigrants," he said.

BRAINWASHED!

No, BRAIN DEAD!! Fixed and Dilated. Maybe it took this fine officers death to bring this issue up front and personal to the people of Colorado.
I hate that he had to die. What a waste.

The writer of this article is really trying to settle things down. Very obvious bias. Looks like tensions are very high in CO.

W

This biased article has been added to the ALIPAC homepage and my letter to the author will follow shortly.

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=N ... le&sid=407

W

The murder of the exceptional Denver police officer, as tragic as it is, is only a symptom of a much greater problem we have in Denver and Colorado. Illegals from Mexico are here in the USA in numbers that are not in the best interests of our country. The Mexican illegals have no idea about what America represents. To them America is just a meal ticket and they feel no obligation to honor the values that make this diverse country great.

Illegal Mexican immigrants are undermining the greatness of America by creating yet another large subgroup that has their own culture, their own language, their own community and their own values (or lack thereof) that differ significantly from what makes up mainstream America.

God forbid they eventually become citizens, these people simply vote money into their own pockets. While most Americans will vote in their own best interests, most Americans to date have an appreciation of what America really is and they have a vested interests in a diverse America, and most Americans will place the best interests of the country above their own.

This is not the case with many Hispanic sub groups. These people continually vote for that which is in their best interests - to the detriment of a diverse America. They want an America in which the Hispanics rule. In Denver they vote for an entirely Spanish educational system, they pay for remedial training for perspective Hispanic (not white) civil servants with city funds and they have worked with dilligence to derail the fair auction of a city property to the highest bidder and conducted a kangaroo court to railroad it into becomming the Hispanic Cultural Center. They have an organized machine that protects illegals, they harbor criminals and thay represent a selfish concern that will lead to nothing but chaos of left unchecked.

If immigrant workers are needed we have more than ample numbers of honorable people who want to come to America - and respect our vaules and institutions - from Africa, India, Asia and along the entire Pacific Rim. Lets diversify our immigrant population and rid ourselves of the scourage from Mexico. I have had enough!