Thread: Tancredo Gets Flak For Criticism Of City

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/l ... 56,00.html

Tancredo gets flak for criticism of city

By Lou Kilzer, Rocky Mountain News
May 12, 2005

Denver officials blasted U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo on Wednesday for alleging that the city has a policy of noncooperation with immigration authorities.

Tancredo, a Jefferson County Republican, made the charge in a news release Tuesday following the weekend killing of Denver police Detective Donald Young. The suspect in that case, Raul Garcia-Gomez, is an illegal immigrant from Mexico.

"I am very disappointed that he has chosen to inject himself into this case," said City Attorney Cole Finegan, referring to Tancredo. "He's wrong in every way."

Tancredo, a staunch opponent of illegal immigration, issued a release headlined: "Tancredo Asks Hickenlooper for Answers."

In it, the congressman said a Denver police policy "prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal officials on immigration matters . . ."

Not so, Finegan said.

The police policy in question is nearly two decades old and does not prevent cooperation. However, it does say that officers are not responsible for enforcing immigration laws unless a person is arrested for another crime.

The purpose of the policy, which has been adopted in cities throughout the nation, first came as a response to domestic violence in the 1980s.

Women's rights advocates charged that if a victim feared going to police because of her immigration status, cases would go unreported, said Denver immigration attorney Ravi Kanwal.

If he was repentant Wednesday after the city's counterattack, Tancredo didn't show it. He said if a woman's charge of domestic violence could result in her deportation, her husband or boyfriend might be less inclined to offend.

Besides, he said, federal laws say local departments should report illegal immigrants. If people don't like the law, they should work to repeal it.

The congressman said that since Young's killing, his office has received five calls from police families applauding his stance.

No families, he said, have complained.

Tancredo did say that many large cities have policies nearly identical to Denver's, and most of those that don't have written policies nevertheless follow similar unwritten rules.

Denver, he said, "is not unique."

That was not clear from his news release, however.

In it, he cited what he called Hickenlooper's "refusal to reverse Denver's failed and illegal sanctuary policy."

He said that stand was "dangerous to all Coloradans."

Finegan said that he found it unseemly that the congressman "injected himself" into the debate while the search for Young's killer was still active.

Tancredo, however, said no one should have been surprised.

"Do they think, all of a sudden, I've come in on this issue?" he asked.

In his news release, Tancredo also said that Garcia-Gomez was given "the green light to drive even though he was stopped three times for dangerous driving behavior and provided no legitimate driving credentials."

That also is incorrect, Finegan said.

In a memo to the mayor's office, Finegan said that in each of the three traffic stop cases, Garcia-Gomez presented a Mexican driver's license.

Colorado law, he said, exempts citizens from another country who have a driver's license from the need to have a valid state driver's license, Finegan said.

In two of the cases, Garcia-Gomez was cited for minor traffic offenses. In the other, he was the victim of an accident. However, he was cited after he failed to provide his license or proof of insurance.

The driver's license part of the case was dismissed after he showed a valid license in court. The insurance issue is set for a May 19 hearing.

The police rules at the center of the debate state: "The responsibility for enforcement of immigration laws rests with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

"Denver police officers shall not initiate police actions with the primary objective of discovering the immigration status of a person."

The policy continues to say that if a suspect is arrested for another crime, a tag called "refer to immigration" will "be added to the original charges."

In that case Denver sheriff's officers will call the INS, according to the policy.

• Name: Raul Garcia-Gomez

• Description: Male, 5-foot-6, 150 pounds, short shaved dark brown hair, brown eyes, thin mustache, tattoo on left hand.

• CrimeStoppers is offering a $50,000 reward to anyone providing information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the shooting death of Denver police Detective Donald Young. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 720-913-STOP. Informants can remain anonymous.

• CrimeStoppers está ofreciendo una recompensa de $50,000 a cualquiera que proporcine información que termine en una conviccion en la muerte del Detective Donald Young. Si usted tiene información, por favor llame CrimeStoppers al 720-913-STOP. Informantes pueden permanecer anónimos.

Developments

• The funeral for slain Denver police Detective Donald Young is expected to draw as many as 3,000 friends and officers, police said Wednesday.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Denver seats 1,000 to 1,200 people. Organizers hope to accommodate the overflowing crowd by setting up a large screen on the corner of Colfax Avenue and Logan Street, which will broadcast the services live.

The funeral, expected to last 1 ½ hours, will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday. It will be followed by a burial at Fort Logan National Cemetery.

The funeral procession route has not been finalized, but police said that Colfax will be closed from Broadway to Pearl Street beginning at 9 a.m.

Suspect:

Garcia-Gomez's traffic record

• A ticket was issued Oct. 20 for no driver's license, no insurance and speeding. On Dec. 20, he presented a valid Mexican driver's license in court. Other charges were dismissed for lack of probable cause.

• A ticket was issued March 7 for no driver's license and no insurance. He was the victim in a traffic accident. On April 18, he presented a valid Mexican driver's license in court and the no driver's license charge was dismissed. The case was continued for him to produce proof of "after acquired" insurance. It is currently set for May 19.

• A ticket was issued April 18 for disobedience to a traffic signal. At the time of the stop he produced a valid Mexican driver's license. He paid the ticket on April 19.

Source: City of Denver

kilzerl@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2644

Go get em Tom. You keep taking these traitors to task for their treachery. Sooner or later they are going to have to answer for their dispicable actions and sooner or later justice will be coming to them.

Women's rights advocates charged that if a victim feared going to police because of her immigration status, cases would go unreported, said Denver immigration attorney Ravi Kanwal.

This is at the crux of the problem, the national victim mentality that has created these "havens" which frustrate immigration enforcement. And these "victims" were forced to come here by whom? Thanks, womens groups, or should I say leftist womens groups for creating "havens" where every form of scum and villainy can hide.

God bless Rep. Tancredo. He is the rare politician with some guts.

I guess I'm nuts. Danged if I can see where protecting an abused woman should cause other laws ( such as immigration) to become null and void. Am I into circular thinking here?

Apparently they had three chances to deport this person and with every chance they missed he became bolder. I don't understand accepting a Mexican drivers license, either.

When we lived overseas we had to go to the authorities and get an International Drivers License, no matter that our state license were still valid in that state. We were NO LONGER IN THAT STATE. If we'd broken the law while without an IDL..we'd have been in BIG trouble...no doubt about it. Problem is, these illegals need have NO fear of breaking our laws. Kill a policeman? Okey dokey....just run back to Mexico.

RR