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