Some see racism in session

Democrats complain of overtones in talk of immigration

April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

A number of Democratic lawmakers have complained of racist overtones in the special session dealing with illegal immigration.

Other lawmakers have said they've seen no racism, just healthy debate about what illegal immigrants are costing the state.

"It would be easier to teach a duck to bark or a dog to quack than to get rid of the racism in this house," said Rep. Dorothy Butcher, D-Pueblo.

Some Republican lawmakers dismissed the accusations and said the only reason they're targeting illegal immigrants is because they drain state services and drive down wages.

"It just so happens that the cultural and economic impact is driven by the huge influx of immigrants crossing the southern border," said Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield.

"It's deplorable to cry racism when we are having a serious discussion about illegal immigration."

Sen. Dan Grossman, D-Denver, wondered aloud if all Colorado residents would have to be fitted with an identity chip or a gold star much like European Jews were forced to wear under Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

"I'm going down to my tailor to see if he can sew a gold star on my shirt," said Grossman, who is Jewish.

Rep. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, came under fire during a speech on the House floor last week in which he said Mexican gangs are illegally coming into the state.

Harvey said he was gaveled down before he could explain he was quoting a newspaper article about the problem of Mexican gangs sending thousands of their members to the United States.

"Then this article must be racist for pointing out this problem," he said.

Harvey said it's a reality that most illegal immigrants in Colorado come from Mexico and other Latin America countries. However, that doesn't make fighting illegal immigration a racist issue, he said.

"This session has to do with protecting the citizens of Colorado from having to subsidize illegal immigrants no matter where they're from. By throwing out those words and accusations, they're shutting down a debate on a serious public safety concern."

Among those concerned about the tenor of the session is John Edward Soto, coordinator of Companeros, a Hispanic resource group based in Durango.

He told a House committee last week that his family has lived here for generations and fought in this country's wars. And yet he has been pulled over and questioned by immigration officials because of the color of his skin.

"This legislative session is just exacerbating the problem," he said.

Ricardo Martinez, co-director of Padres Unidos, a parent advocacy group, said he and other Colorado native-born Hispanics have been told by some people at the Capitol "to go back to where you came from." He would not name names.

"The worst in people has come out here," Martinez said.

Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon, and Sen. Peter Groff, D-Denver, blasted Republican proposals that target immigrant children as "repugnant."

Sen. Ron Teck, R-Grand Junction, drew criticism last week for floating a bill killed by a Senate committee that recommended Congress revise the U.S. Constitution to deny automatic citizenship to babies born in America to illegal immigrant mothers.

"I don't think there is anything racist about this session," Teck said. "Mexico is strict about its immigration laws, but at same time they want us to look the other way."

Democrats say the debate is not new.

In fact, the disparaging term wop was born from "without papers" and was meant to degrade 19th- and 20th-century Italian immigrants.

"This country has a history of attacking people who look different," Groff said. "This country always has to have a boogeyman. It's a vicious circle."