Immigration

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 >>

Immigration: Report says CO's "show me your papers" law costs $13 million per year

Colorado spends about $13 million a year to enforce a 2006 state law that requires local cops to report to federal immigration authorities arrestees who they suspect are undocumented immigrants, according to a report by the Colorado Fiscal Institute. Those reported to the feds spend an average of 22 ... More >>

Marijuana legalization efforts undermined by immigration ruling?

The Supreme Court's heath care ruling has made such a splash that it's easy to forget SCOTUS also weighed in on Arizona's controversial immigration law this week. What's the latter got to do with Amendment 64, the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act? Plenty, say opponents, who see the opinion as doo ... More >>

Immigrant rights group asks ICE to stay away from Strawberry Days Festival

Update below: Will federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement have a presence at this weekend's 115th annual Strawberry Days Festival in Glenwood Springs? That's what youth-led immigrant rights group AJUA wants to know. AJUA sent a letter to ICE, explaining that the agency's presence at last year's ... More >>

Latino activists prepare for the Supreme Court's ruling on Arizona's SB 1070

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: About 15 percent of Denver case subjects allowed to stay in U.S. after review

Preliminary numbers show that about 15 percent of the 7,923 immigrants whose cases were reviewed as part of a Department of Homeland Security pilot project in Denver will be allowed to stay in the country, says Laura Lichter, the president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Those ... More >>

Immigration review pilot program begins, immigrants and activists cautiously optimistic

Gerardo Noriega.​Laura Lichter, president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, describes prosecutorial discretion in the context of a police officer witnessing a bank robbery and jay-walking at the same time and knowing to stop the bank robber first. This is essentially the p ... More >>

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 >>

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:

Fantasy Voter Fraud

Immigration summit gathering of extremists eager for personal gain, says Dem Rep. Sal Pace

Sal Pace.​In yesterday's preview of an immigration summit organized by the Republican Study Committee, Senator Kevin Lundberg, the committee's chairman, insisted that he was more interested in finding solutions to a big problem than playing partisan games. But Representative Sal Pace, leader ... More >>

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 >>

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

Immigration rally in favor of DREAM Act tries to prove people power stronger than politics

​At 4 p.m. today, a rally will be held in support of the DREAM Act, a proposal that would allow select undocumented students who've lived in America for at least five years and graduate from a U.S. high school the chance to earn legal residency status. The measure faces steep obstacles -- but ... More >>

Michelle Malkin, anchor baby?: Awkward charge if she wants to be Tom Tancredo's running mate

Michelle Malkin.​With the deadline for printing Colorado's ballot fast approaching, Tom Tancredo will have to move fast if he wants to replace Doug "Dayhorse" Campbell, the American Constitution Party lieutenant governor candidate he inherited when he took the top spot. The name of conservativ ... More >>

Illegal immigrants moving here from Arizona, reports NPR: Sorry, Tom Tancredo

Look how close they are!​Today, National Public Radio reported that Arizona's new immigration law -- parts of which are on hold -- is having the effect of causing some illegal immigrants to leave, which no doubt cheers local politicians backing it. But reporter Jeff Brady says at least a dozen ... More >>

ILLEGAL, from Terry Greene Sterling

Tom Tancredo's advice to President Obama about how to solve illegal immigration

Tom Tancredo.​Strange but true: Former congressman Tom Tancredo agrees with something in President Barack Obama said in his immigration-reform speech at American University yesterday -- specifically, his assertion that "our borders are just too vast for us to be able to solve the problem only ... More >>

Tom Tancredo calls out "brown supremacists" after Arizona immigration rally

Photo by John JohnstonFor Tancredo, the issue's brown and white.​Last month, a representative from Americans For Legal Immigration blasted ex-Congressman Tom Tancredo for pledging to participate in a June 5 rally in Phoenix whose organizer allegedly had ties to neo-Nazi groups. Tancredo refut ... More >>

Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Greeley to be "transparent"

These ICE men probably aren't dealing with money laundering...​A July 2008 Greeley Tribune article predicted that "an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, a flashpoint of controversy when it was proposed three years ago, will open this fall in Greeley." Wrong. It took nearly two more y ... More >>

Letters: Racists should make a run for the border

Colorado's Michelle Malkin leads the Know Nothing Nation

Immigration may lower crime rate, says CU prof Tim Wadsworth

Wadsworth's study caused a stir.​University of Colorado sociologist Tim Wadsworth says it was "complete and utter happenstance" that his study about immigration was released just as debate over the issue is at its most contentious. "It was accepted for publication [by Social Science Quarterly] ... More >>

You've heard about the boycott; now try the buycott

Flobots Jonny 5 updates "By the Time I Get to Arizona"

​ In case you just joined us, Flobots are notorious when it comes to fighting injustice and standing up for the rights of all human beings. So it comes as no surprise, really, to discover that the act's outspoken frontman Jonny 5 has taken it upon himself to update Public Enemy's incendiary a ... More >>

Ask a Mexican: The April Fool's Day Minuteman Project edition

​Editor's note: Because this week we present the 2010 version of our annual Best of Denver issue, some of our regular features are taking the week off -- but not Gustavo Arellano's Ask a Mexican column, spiced up just for April 1. Dear Readers: In honor of April Fool's Day, I turn this column ... More >>

Read Archbishop Charles Chaput's argument for immigration reform

Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput. Denver Archibishop Charles Chaput is typically thought of as a conservative, and no wonder, since he regularly implies that voting for a politician who supports abortion rights is tantamount to helping the ghost of George Tiller section a fetus in its eighth month. ... More >>

Immigrant-rights activists kick off campaign

There's a painfully obvious division within the Denver population that's attributable to a broken immigration system, says Julie Gonzales, political coordinator for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. "A lot of people within the immigrant community feel like they have to separate themselves ... 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 >>

There auto be a law against Mexicans warming up their cars

ICE deportations in Denver set record; see the release here

America's promise to protect asylum-seekers gets lost in the paperwork

Where do anchor babies come from?

How many undocumented Mexicans actually want citizenship?

Cesar Chavez Says

Yes, he was against illegal immigration -- but he was also pro-Aztlan.

Labor Saver

Sex Marks the Spot

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

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.

Follow That Story

Border Wars

Trial by Wire

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

Visa -- It's Everywhere You Want to Be

Unless you're Amarzaya Toodoi, a young Mongolian student trying to return to Denver in a post-9/11 world.

Russian Roulette

The bride says she married for love; her mother-in-law suspects it was money. The only person who can settle the dispute is dead.

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.