Mayoral candidates talk illegal immigration

Share different views on Secure Communities program

Gene Davis, DDN Staff Writer
Monday, May 16, 2011

Although the two Denver run-off mayoral candidates have plenty in common when it comes to their views on immigration reform, there’s one issue that splits them apart: their opinions on the so-called Secure Communities program.

During an open forum that happened over the weekend, Chris Romer and Michael Hancock had different opinions on how local government should handle Secure Communities, which cracks down on illegal immigrants by verifying residential status through fingerprinting inmates.

According to Grace Lopez Ramirez from Mi Familia Vota, one of the organizers of Saturday’s mayoral open forum that focused on immigrant and Latino issues, Romer appeared to want Denver to opt out of Secure Communities “until we get it right.â€