Thread: Greeley mayor heads to Washington to stop immigration raids

Greeley mayor heads to Washington to stop immigration raids


Vanessa Delgado, (Bio) vdelgado@greeleytribune.com
May 16, 2007

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Greeley Mayor Tom Selders will go to Washington on Thursday along with several religious groups to ask the President and Congress to stop immigration raids and urge for legislation on immigration reform.

"I'm not making a stance one way or the other, but I am saying that we need some policies that work," Selders said. "Every time there is a raid, it creates a lot of turmoil in the community, and I think we can overt that turmoil by having better policies."

Selders is set to present during a hearing on the social impact of raids on families and communities for the White House, Department of Homeland Security and congressional leaders as negotiations begin this week to pass an immigration reform bill.

He said he plans to talk about how the December Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at Swift & Co. meatpacking plant in Greeley has divided the community.

About 260 workers were taken during the raid as a result of efforts launched by a U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigation of identity theft. While only 18 of the workers were charged with identity theft, Weld District Attorney Ken Buck said most of the workers who were taken were using an identity other than their own. Those charged had more concrete evidence against them, Buck said.

Buck, who backed the raid and who supports plans to establish an ICE office in Greeley, said he sees the mayor's move as counterproductive. By saying that the raids were wrong means that he supports illegal activity, Buck said.

"What he is saying is that he is opposed to enforcing the law," Buck said. "When an elected official suggests that we should not abide by the law, it is never a good thing."

Selders said he is not excusing the actions of the workers taken in the raid, but he said he sees the problems that immigration has caused in Greeley and he hopes that by visiting Washington, an answer would be found through comprehensive reform.

"I will continue to do what I think is the right thing for the people of Greeley," said Selders, who is up for re-election this November. "Both sides have to have some understanding of the other side's position. We are very polarized in Greeley."

His trip is sponsored by Congregations Building Communities, which sent another group to Washington from Our Lady of Peace Church in Greeley to advocate for immigration reform in March.

Rev. Anna Lange-Soto of the El Buen Pastor Episcopal Church in Redwood City, Calif., who also will present on Thursday, said they also want to talk about reuniting families separated by the raids.

"We pride ourselves on being a nation of laws, but we also pride ourselves on being a nation of fairness," Lange-Soto said.

http://greeleytrib.com/article/20070516/NEWS/105160093

"We pride ourselves on being a nation of laws, but we also pride ourselves on being a nation of fairness," Lange-Soto said.

So let's obey the law, deport the illegals and be fair to the American citizens.

When he gets to Washington they should throw his butt in jail for lieing under oath. I do believe even Mayors take an oath to uphold the law which he doesn't seem to want to do!

I sat through the city council meetings when a proposal was put infront of our city council for a local ICE office. Latinos Unidos through a fit, and the council including Selders said its a federal issue and they weren't going to get into a federal issue.

Well fast forward a year later and here he is sticking his nose in a federal issue. Selders is a text book flip flopping hypocrite!

What a turkey! I'm sure he's one of these guys who would say it is the Federal Government's job and not local Govt. to take care of illegal alien business. Now he has the Federal Govt. finally doing what they're supposed to do and he goes crying like a little baby.

If anybody would like to contact Mayor Selders and voice your opinion you can do so at

Mayor Tom Selders
(970) 350-9774 (City council# as Selders leads the council)
tom@selders.org

I'm afraid my little cities mayor might have a bigger voice in Washington now that the raid has occurred here. Before he would have been shrugged off but now he has clout from the incident.

I would appreciate any help in loading up emails, calls, voicemails advising of America's wishes and not those of Illegals. Feel free to point out he said it was a federal issue a year ago yet now he is sticking his flip flopping nose in the issue, and ignoring the rule of law.

It's easy for them to say "It's a Federal Issue" because they know that the FEDS are not handling the problems our communities are dealing with when it comes to Illegals!

I for one would like to know what their excuse would be if the FEDS did indeed start handling the problems with Illegals, like deporting, offering no benefits, no schools, then what would the exucse be?

I wonder if the Swift plant in Greely is still checking their employees as closely as they were after the big raid last year. I am not sure if Greely is an "officiall" sanctuary city, but it is starting to look that way.