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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.