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Published: Sunday, September 10, 2006 6:44 PM CDT

Immigration law ‘affects us all’

Special meeting draws crowd concerned with immigration laws

By Katie Klingsporn

During Thursday night’s special meeting on immigration issues — in which people packed into every bit of standing space in Rebekah Hall — Telluride Town Council Member Justin Clifton posed a question to the largely hispanic audience. How many, he asked, will be affected by a new state law that requires applicants for subsidized housing to verify their legal place in the country. In other words, Clifton wanted to know how many people are in danger of losing their homes.

The air in room filled with hands.

Housing, welfare, business licenses, loans, some health care and post-secondary education. These public benefits were all made off-limits to undocumented citizens by state legislation passed this summer. And in Telluride, where immigrant workers both legal and not play and important role in the resort destination’s economy, these restrictions, plus others imposed on private employers set the stage for some major changes.

To begin to brace itself for these changes, search for creative solutions, dispel some rumors and initiate what is expected to be a long-running dialogue on this topic, the Telluride Town Council held a special meeting last Thursday.

The meeting drew about 150 people to Rebekah Hall, pushing folks into aisles and all the way to the door. Two translators were on hand to relay the dialogue from English to Spanish, and the audience consisted largely of hispanic families, though most just listened.

No solutions were struck at the work session, and discussion just scratched the surface of the issues to come. What really emerged were two things: a consensus that this issue has potential to affect serious change in many layers of the community, and a commitment from citizens, representatives of organizations and governing boards to do what they can to ensure that all of Telluride’s residents keep their civil rights.

“The politicians that passed this bill don’t know the definitions of community,” Clifton said. “This, in this room, is community. You all are citizens of Telluride, whether you are documented by definitions of the state or not. We have a lot to do, all of us — not just small groups — but the whole community of Telluride.”

“It affects us all,” said Town Manager Frank Bell.

Oscar Perla, a legal immigrant who has been in Telluride for several years, stated what would become the overarching theme of the meeting: that the immigrant population, which fills jobs like construction, housekeeping and cooking and enriches the local culture with its customs, is a vital cog in the local economy and community.

“Imagine what would happen without any one of us working in Telluride,” he said, urging local government officials, business owners and non-profit organizations to get on the same page and launch a concerted effort.

While more than 10 new pieces of immigration legislation were passed this summer in a special session of the Colorado Legislature, the center of focus at Thursday’s meeting was House Bill 1023, which mandates that governmental entities verify the citizenship of anyone 18 or older who applies for a federal, state or local public benefit. This law ties the hands of the town in offering services like assisted housing, some employment, business licenses, loans and other services to undocumented citizens. If the town fails to comply, it risks loosing state funding for some of its programs.

The most prominent among these services in Telluride is Shandoka apartments, which is owned by the town, managed by the San Miguel Regional Housing Authority and lived in by many workers.

In the past, applicants for Shandoka had to be 18 or older and have worked for 1,000 hours within the school district or proved an intent to work.

With these new laws, anyone who is applying for or renewing a lease has to prove their legal status, and that has many worried that a large population of local workers may be displaced.

However, when Monica Carey, interim executive director for the housing authority, got up to speak, she suggested that instead of tackling the housing dilemma first, Telluride should start out on the route of compliance. She suggested the immediately formation of an agency designed to help employees get their workers legal status and to help individuals get their own legal status. Once the region has established this “compliance roadmap,” as she called it, then it should turn its focus to Shandoka.

Town Manager Frank Bell also had an suggestion for action, though it was broader in scope. Because this law will likely have the most serious consequences in ski resort towns similar to Telluride, Bell suggested forming an alliance with towns like Vail, Breckenridge and Aspen to create some clamor at the state level to enact some change — something he acknowledged would require significant time and effort.

Ricardo Perez, a member of the Western Colorado Justice for Immigrants Committees, traveled from Grand Junction to attend the meeting. What his organization has heard from politicians, he said, is that the next step is to get backing from those with more economic power — those large industrial or agricultural companies and big businesses. This could be an effective strategy here, where there is significant wealth, he said.

“What we’re asking you here is your help in communicating with those people,” he said.

Luigi Chiarani had a different perspective of the issue. What is fueling the need for jobs, he said, is explosive and unrestrained growth perpetuated by a government approving big development projects. The town should focus more on providing a home to its current population rather than drawing in as many second-homeowners as it can, he said.

In addition, representatives from the schools, police department and medical community were on hand to talk about the legislation.

Although many facets of the community were represented, Council Member Andrea Benda pointed out what she perceived to be a party missing: the business community.

“I think it’s very important for us to have our employers ... to really get very assertive to help workers to get documentation they need,” she said.

Benda pointed out that in its origination, Telluride was built by people from 25 different nations. “That’s what makes this town strong,” she said.

Jerry Greene, who owns Baked in Telluride and employs several legal immigrant workers, expressed what became a common sentiment at the meeting: gratefulness to the immigrant population for their contributions to our community.

“I am thankful not only for the help that people do for my business, but also for the human, cultural and family values brought to the community by the immigrant population,” he said.

A consensus to have a further meeting soon was made at the meeting, but no date was set.

Reporter Katie Klingsporn can be reached at katie@telluridenews.com