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Protesters slam border trip
A number of immigrant-rights and human-rights groups are outraged

Protesters slam border trip

Lawmakers' time could be better spent at home, groups say

By Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News
October 6, 2005

A number of immigrant-rights and human-rights groups are outraged that three Colorado legislators traveled to Arizona this week to join the Minutemen in patrolling the Mexican border.

"I am appalled that a group of Colorado legislators would desert their sworn duty to represent their Colorado constituents by going to Arizona to participate in a 'hate summit,' " said Polly Baca, executive director of Latin American Research and Service Agency on Wednesday.

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"These legislators are choosing to ignore, to ignore the difficult economic challenges in Colorado," said Baca, a former legislator. "Their actions can lead us . . . to the shortage of labor to harvest our crops and to put additional pressure to our tourism industry."

Baca was one of several speakers during an event at the state Capitol organized by the American Friends Service Committee, part of a coalition of nearly 20 civil rights and labor groups that work on immigration issues.

A clip from a documentary critical of the Minutemen Project, Rights on the Line: Vigilantes at the Border, was also shown.

Rep. David Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, Rep. Bill Crane, R-Arvada, and Rep. Jim Welker, R-Loveland, met Monday with their counterparts in Arizona to discuss ways to curb illegal immigration and to limit services to people who are in the country illegally.

They also joined the volunteers of the Minutemen Project in patrolling the border with Mexico.

Schultheis issued a statement Wednesday responding to those criticizing his trip.

"Our trip was an eye-opening experience and has served to finally bring some attention in Colorado to the issue of illegal immigration," he said. "Solutions are what we need for our illegal immigration problem - not critics who would attempt to vilify the people trying to find those solutions."

Schultheis said the protesters are ignoring the fact that illegal immigrants are crossing into the U.S. at the rate of 10,000 a day, and that they cost taxpayers $7 billion a year.

"They would like to see us continue with the current policy of amnesty toward illegals, a policy that is dismantling our nation and preventing us from serving our citizens and legal residents," he said.

"They would have us stand by and watch as Colorado alone loses over $400 million a year providing services to illegal aliens, at a time when many are calling our budget situation a crisis."

However, other speakers at the press conference Wednesday said that Schultheis was not taking into account the contribution of illegal immigrants to the economy.

"Under federal law, undocumented worker families (can) have K-12 education for their children and emergency services," said Leslie Moody, president of the Denver Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.

However, Moody said the illegal workers pay into the Social Security system, but do not benefit from it.

"Emergency services should be a basic human right," she said.

Moody said Schultheis should instead worry about the 869,000 Coloradans who do not have health insurance and who wind up in emergency rooms because they can't afford preventive care.

Mark Silverstein, the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union, said bills and ballot measures that seek to deny services to illegal immigrants may run into legal and constitutional challenges.

"Whether people are legal in this country (or not), they are human beings and have human rights," he said.