Illegal Immigration and Deportation

Tom Tancredo announces he's running for governor...again

Moments ago, during an appearance on Peter Boyles's KHOW talk show (and while surrounded by TV cameras), former Congressman Tom Tancredo announced that he's running for governor...again. "I announced 5 minutes ago my intention to seek the Republican nomination for Governor of Colorado and look forw ... More >>

"Show Me Your Papers" law on the road to repeal as new report condemns it

State lawmakers have passed a bill that repeals a much-criticized 2006 law requiring local law enforcement to report anyone they suspect of being undocumented to federal immigration authorities. The bill, HB1258, now heads to the governor's desk. Immigrant advocate Justin Valas credits the bill's p ... More >>

Dick Lamm pushes for controversial E-Verify system in Colorado Compact immigration group

Former Colorado Governor Dick Lamm is one of more than a hundred officials, public leaders and organizations to sign on to the so-called Colorado Compact on immigration -- an effort Senator Michael Bennet is spearheading. But Lamm, who has in the past made some attention-getting statements on immigr ... More >>

Reader: Immigration report about costs of law ignores costs of not enforcing it

Last week, Melanie Asmar shared an immigration report estimating the cost of Colorado's "show me your papers" law at $13 million. But the price tag on porous borders and a flood of illegal immigrants depleting American resources is much higher, maintains one particularly passionate commenter. Here's ... More >>

Are Mexicans more likely to be sexual deviants?

Initiative 52: Signature collection slow for undocumented-immigrants license proposal

The backers of Initiative 52, which would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, have been collecting signatures for months. "It's going slow," says Homero, a volunteer. Thus far, they've gotten 15,000 signatures notarized and have hundreds of volunteers trying to collect 75,000 ... More >>

Immigration: The fight to stop deportation of Jose Luis Vazquez Campos

Jose Luis Vazquez Campos doesn't have much time. An undocumented immigrant, Campos must prove to federal immigration authorities that he's in Mexico on July 18, which means he'll have to board a bus in Denver on Sunday to get there. Yesterday, the American Friends Service Committee held a rally to a ... More >>

Update: ICE reviewing court summonses as part of immigration enforcement surge

Update: Immigration and Customs Enforcement has revised an earlier statement that ICE is screening traffic summonses in Aurora to identify undocumented immigrants who are fugitives, have been previously deported or have been convicted of crimes. The revised statement, sent two hours after the origin ... More >>

Immigration enforcement program phase-out won't allay advocates' worries

Local immigrant advocates aren't exactly elated at the news that the Obama administration plans to phase out a controversial program that allows local law enforcement to act as immigration officers. "At the end of the day, there's another elephant in the room," says Justin Valas, of the Colorado Imm ... More >>

Jared Polis wants investigation into abuse of LGBT immigrants in detention

Colorado Congressman Jared Polis has called for a government investigation into alleged abuse suffered by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender immigrants detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "Here we have people who are at their most vulnerable -- many without access to any lega ... More >>

Reader: Immigration raid at Wildcat Dairy's only flaw is that more illegals weren't busted

​Our post about an immigration raid in Morgan Count -- one decried by a local activist -- continues to generate passionate posts. Here's one from a reader upset that more people weren't taken into custody.

James Mejia: Activist attacks Denver mayoral candidate for using phrase "illegal immigrants"

James Mejia.​James Mejia is now among the frontrunners in the race for Denver mayor, which makes him a target for attacks -- including an unexpected one from a group of Latino activists led by Lidia Ortiz. They've written an open letter blasting Mejia for using the phrase "illegal immigrants" ... More >>

Ask a Mexican: Tom Tancredo sits in for a special April Fools' edition

Colorado immigration partnership with feds wrongly focusing on non-criminals, study says

​ A program that delegates federal immigration enforcement powers to local officers is not netting as many serious criminals in Colorado as in other states, says a study released today by the Migration Policy Institute.

Readers disagree about whether the word "illegal" should be used in immigration coverage

​Our post yesterday about Colorado signing on to the Secure Communities program sparked a debate among commenters after reporter Melanie Asmar used the term "illegal immigrants." Should the word "illegal" be used in that way? Or is it unnecessarily pejorative? Here are two strong views:

Return to Sender

What would comprehensive immigration reform look like if the Feds got off their duffs?

Mexican Macro-economics

Whose Dole Is It, Anyway?

FAIR-y Tales

Border lines: Tom Tancredo and Gustavo Arellano, opponents on immigration and allies on legalization

Reader's Tom Tancredo-Gustavo Arellano debate take our longest Comment of the Day yet!

Tom Tancredo.​As my wife loves to tell me at awkward moments, size matters. By that standard, the following note from our "Knee-jerk reactions to the debate between Tom Tancredo and 'Ask a Mexican' Gustavo Arellano" post is impressive indeed. Check out the note that prompted it, and the loqua ... More >>

Tom Tancredo & "Ask a Mexican" columnist Gustavo Arellano keep talking in debate videos

Gustavo Arellano.​Update: The immigration debate continues, two days after the November 16 face-off that pitted Tom Tancrtedo against "Ask a Mexican" columnist Gustavo Arellano. "Gustavo seems to speak out of both sides of his mouth," one commenter suggests. "Of course Tancredo is a racist al ... More >>

Human smuggling: In first case after '06 state law passed, federal prosecutors took over

​ Most human smuggling cases in Colorado are handled by state prosecutors using a 2006 state law -- the effectiveness of which is questioned in this week's feature story, "Disappearing Act." But human smuggling remains a federal crime, as well -- and in cases where there are aggravating facto ... More >>

Road to nowhere: The men who are caught transporting illegal immigrants rarely pay the price

Human smuggling: Defense attorneys question whether law is too harsh on alleged smugglers

​ This week's cover story, "Disappearing Act," examines the difficulties of enforcing Colorado's anti-human smuggling law, which was passed in 2006. Though the law was well-intentioned, prosecuting the alleged smugglers has proven tough. As such, many smugglers end up taking plea deals that re ... More >>

Jose Nevarez-Coronado, charged in traffic death of Yvonne Frye, here legally despite Post claim

Large photo below.​Yvonne Frye, 62, a much-loved professor at the Community College of Denver, was killed last week in a crash for which twenty-year-old Jose Nevarez-Coronado has been charged with vehicular homicide. Nevarez-Coronado was allegedly drunk -- but not in the country illegally, as ... More >>

ICE arrests focus on criminal aliens: 78 busts include man convicted of making terrorist threat

​These days, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, emphasizes that it's targeting criminal aliens, not otherwise law-abiding citizens who lack documentation authorizing their U.S. residency. And that's the theme of ICE's latest Colorado busts. Of the 78 people rounded up fr ... More >>

Pinalcchio

Renowned forensics experts say a Pinal County, Arizona deputy's high-profile tale about getting shot after encountering drug smugglers doesn't add up

Letters: Monica Alonzo's coyotes story should be required reading on the immigration issue

Inside America's kidnapping capital of Phoenix, Arizona

Welcome to Mi Pueblito

The small-town, family-farm lifestyle that we love to celebrate is being preserved -- thanks to Mexican immigrants.

An Immigrant's Heart

To survive the ordeal of escaping Guatemala, Julia needed a big Heart. But not this big.

Cowboy Down: Rob Krentz's Family Talks About the Life and Death of the Murdered Arizona Rancher

Badlands: From Ground Zero of the Immigration Crisis Along the Mexican Border

Glenn Beck co-host Pat Gray: AZ illegals aren't like pre-WWII Jews in Germany -- because the Jews were citizens

Their German citizenship didn't exactly solve their problems.​Republican gubernatorial hopeful Scott McInnis likes Arizona's controversial new immigration law a whole lot more than does Representative Jared Polis, who told Politico that requiring immigrants to have their papers on them at all ... More >>

ACLU sues Jeffco sheriff Ted Mink, says he unlawfully imprisoned man for 47 days

Ted Mink allegedly held a man for over a month without charges.​The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit against the Jefferson County Sheriff, accusing him of illegally detaining a man for 47 days for the suspicion that he was an illegal immigrant. Sheriff Ted Mink, the ... More >>

I-300 is out to put the brakes on illegal immigration

Latino community set to march in Greeley tomorrow

A Flickr photo. Over the past few years, Greeley has become a hotbed for immigration issues in Colorado. In 2006, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents raided the Swift meatpacking plant there, arresting more than 250 people, many of whom were detained and separated from their children. And l ... More >>

In-state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants and shifting political tides

John Andrews. Don't miss "Past Immigrant Tuition Bill Won Votes from GOP," an article by the Denver Post's Lynn Bartels that neatly captures the absurdity over the politics of illegal immigration in this state. Bartels points out that "five years ago, a Republican-controlled Senate approved an amen ... More >>

Sex Marks the Spot

Numbers can lie, as shown by estimates of Mexican sex offenders.

Listen and Learn

Loud music is the Mexicans’ revenge for Lou Dobbs.

The Magic Number

Illegal immigrants are using stolen identities to work. But whose are they?

Guest Wishes

Helen Krieble wants to end all the horsing around over illegal immigration.

Trial by Wire

There's lots of cash and carrying on over First Data's south-of-the-border business.

The Flag-Bearer

Tom Tancredo is on a crusade to save America -- and he's looking for recruits.

Card Sharps

Selling green cards in Denver is easy money.

Trials and Immigrations

Brandon Marinoff may be Denver's most daring attorney. Just ask his clients -- the ones who haven't already been deported.

Waiting to Exile

Once permanent U.S. residents, these "non-deportables" are now locked up in what should be no man's land.

The Underclass

Colorado's illegal immigrants find trouble even when they try to do things legally.

CROSSING THE LINE

HOW ILLEGAL ALIENS WITH CRIMINAL RECORDS COME OVER THE RIVER--AND THROUGH THE CRACKS.AMERICA OR BUST ILLEGAL ALIENS CAN COMMIT BURGLARIES, THEFTS AND ASSAULTS IN DENVER--AND HAVE LITTLE TO FEAR FROM THE INS.