Immigration

"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 >>

Immigration: Supporters rally to stop the deportation of Imelda Valenzuela Gonzalez

As Imelda Valenzuela Gonzalez headed into the Denver Immigration Court just before 8:30 this morning for a hearing on her deportation case, a crowd of supporters that had gathered on the sidewalk in front of the court building chanted in unison, "Si se puede!" When the 43-year-old mother of three e ... More >>

Tom Tancredo offers his own Colorado Compact on Immigration Fairness

"Does the GOP have a death wish?" That's what former congressman, former gubernatorial candidate and longtime rabble-rouser Tom Tancredo asks, in the wake of a number of Republicans signing off last week on the Colorado Compact on Immigration. Tancredo, who left the Rrepublican Party to run for gov ... More >>

Are Mexicans more likely to be sexual deviants?

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 >>

Immigration: Local activists praise, criticize Supreme Court's Arizona ruling

Today, the United States Supreme Court rejected three of four core provisions in Arizona's controversial immigration law -- but allowed the most hotly contested to remain. It is still legal for state police to stop, interview and detain people they have "reasonable suspicion" to believe entered the ... More >>

America's war on Mexicans has gone too far

Slide show: Xico Artists Featured in "Crossing the Line"

Destined for Deportation chronicles the fight of two immigrants to stay in this country

Destined for Deportation begins with the personal. Jeanette Vizguerra, a mother of three children who are United States citizens and is now facing deportation, explains that she came to America not for money, but for safety. Her husband drove a bus in Mexico and was hijacked at gunpoint three times ... 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 >>

Colorado Democrats commend Obama's "smarter immigration policy"

Colorado Democratic leaders are applauding the Obama Administration's newly proposed immigration policy, a measure that would permit undocumented spouses and children of United States citizens to remain in the country during the legal immigration process. Under current law, undocumented family memb ... More >>

ACLU urges schools to adopt policy banning school police officers from working with ICE

​ The American Civil Liberties Union has jumped in on the debate simmering in Carbondale and Glenwood Springs over whether school resource officers should be allowed to collaborate with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Lesbian couple fights deportation: Will judge allow undocumented partner to stay in U.S.?

​ In May, we told the stories of two GLBT immigrants living in Colorado and seeking asylum to stay in the United States forever. Their stories of discrimination and abuse in their home countries tested the limits of asylum law. On Friday, another local GLBT immigrant, a lesbian woman named Mrs ... 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.

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.

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

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

Immigration busts: In fiscal 2010, ICE took 6,617 people from Denver area, 4,447 criminals

​Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is focusing on busting criminal aliens -- like the 78 people recently rounded up statewide. And there's more where they came from. ICE has just released statistics for fiscal 2010, which ended September 30. The arrestee total for the Denver area of re ... More >>

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

Asylum Denied: Only a fraction of Mexicans get U.S. asylum

Inside America's kidnapping capital of Phoenix, Arizona

Get Out!: Arizona and America Join Joe Arpaio in Rushing to Inquire: Are Your Papers in Order?

Welcome to Mi Pueblito

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

Arizona immigration law: Boulder's proposal attacks policies placing immigrants at risk

Jane Brautigam.​In May, we told you about Boulder City Manager Jane Brautigam's authorization of a ban on travel to Arizona over SB 1070, that state's controversial new immigration law. At its 6 p.m. meeting tonight, the Boulder City Council will decide whether to continue the prohibition an ... More >>

ACLU puts out travel alert for people traveling to Arizona due to new "racial-profiling" law

Joe Arpaio.​Planning on traveling to Arizona over the upcoming holiday weekend? A fan of dry heat? The American Civil Liberties Union, joined by the Colorado branch, has issued a travel advisory due to the recent passage of SB 1070, which the organization describes as "Arizona's racial-profili ... More >>

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

Tom Tancredo and his band to star at Arizona immigration rally: Kenny Be's Fotochop Friday

​ While many of America's celebrities announce their Arizona boycott plans, Colorado's most famous performer is preparing a big show of support. Inspired by the new immigration law passed by the Arizona state legislature, Tom Tancredo is getting the band back together.

Letters: Gustavo Arellano, go home (or at least to Arizona)

GringoMask.com wants to teach you immigrant haters a lesson

Arizona cops wouldn't look twice at these faces.​Shortly after Colorado media outlets like Channel 4 caught on to GringoMask.com, the site went from being an amusing satire of Arizona's controversial immigration law to a much less funny protest against it. The site, created by Miami's Zubi Ad ... More >>

WeHireAliens.com not for job hunters -- or John Hickenlooper

​Amid the white-hot debates raging over Arizona's new immigration law, it's harder than ever to separate the spluttering from the substance when it comes to immigration policy. Especially if you're trying to make sense of the über-patriotic sentiments found online at Wehirealiens.com. A pro ... More >>

Immigration Center: Business that allegedly faked fed link hit with $2.5 million judgment

A Flickr photo​As Denver City Councilman Chris Nevitt noted yesterday in support of a proclamation demanding comprehensive immigration reform, "I think the two sides of this debate have demonized each other. The immigration-rights folks look at the people who pursued the Arizona measure as bei ... More >>

Immigration reform must happen now, says Denver City Council proclamation

Chris Nevitt has something to proclaim.​The controversial Arizona immigration bill hasn't stopped any folks from coming into this country illegally yet. After all, it won't take effect until July. But it's certainly led to a bumper crop of proclamations, including denunciations by Denver Publi ... More >>

In Phoenix, Sheriff Joe Arpaio's reign of terror becomes state policy, thanks to state Senator Russell Pearce and Governor Jan Brewer

Immigrant Rights Coalition decries death of bill targeting state's worst job

Not much of a home on the range.​In January, Alan Prendergast argued that herding sheep may be Colorado's worst job. He cited research from Colorado Legal Services showing that the vast majority of herders, many of them brought to the U.S. by industry types from Peru, Bolivia or Mexico, "don't ... More >>

Arizona immigration bill: Removing one word won't stop Colorado protests, advocate says

An image from ColoradoImmigrant.org.​Last Friday, we previewed a student walkout decrying the controversial new Arizona immigration law. On Saturday, the events continued here and in several other locations across the state. These get-togethers were well attended everywhere, says Chandra Russ ... More >>

Arizona immigration bill: Colorado students plan afternoon protest walkout

An image from ColoradoImmigrant.org featuring participants from a previous event.​Yesterday, Denver Public Schools announced on a ban on all work-related travel to Arizona due to the recent passage of a controversial immigration bill that Republican gubernatorial hopeful Scott McInnis digs and ... More >>

John Hickenlooper just not that into talking about immigration law

"Can we talk about something else?"​Yesterday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis made a big splash by saying he'd like to bring Arizona's controversial new immigration law to Colorado. McInnis followed up comments on KHOW morning host Peter Boyles's talk show with press availab ... More >>

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 >>

Wake-Up Call: There oughta be a law

I am listening to Peter Boyles talk about state Senator Chris Romer's bill, which will go before a legislative committee today. The measure would allow illegal immigrants to get in-state tuition at state schools (if they have attended a Colorado high school for at least three years, and have gradu ... More >>

There's no law against the word "illegal"