Immigration hearing riles activists
Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News
Published August 29, 2006 at midnight
A Senate Budget Committee field hearing on the cost of immigration policies, scheduled for Wednesday in Aurora, has stirred up opposition from local advocacy groups on both sides of the issue.
Activists involved in local immigrant rallies this spring plan to protest outside the afternoon hearing, which will be led by U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., at the Aurora Municipal Center.
More than 10 local community groups who work with immigrants sought to testify at the hearing but were denied, according to Lisa Duran, executive director of Rights for All People, which is organizing the protest.
"We are very concerned that the hearing will be a one-sided, biased presentation that will attempt to justify an enforcement-only approach to this broken immigration system," Duran said Monday.
To counter the Allard event, pro- immigrant advocates plan to hold their own hearing tonight in Denver to show the human face of immigration and the contributions immigrants make to society.
About 10 people are expected to testify at the 6 p.m. event in the St. Joseph's Redemptorist Church gymnasium, said Gabriela Flora of the American Friends Service Committee.
Local organizations pushing for stricter enforcement of immigration laws also are angry about the Senate hearing.
Fred Elbel, co-chairman of Defend Colorado Now, said he called Allard's office more than a week ago asking to speak at the hearing but was denied.
He wanted to present his group's recent study about the cost of illegal immigration in Colorado, which ties into the hearing's focus: the budget impact of current and proposed immigration policies.
Robert Copley Jr., a local Minutemen activist, complained that local groups aren't being allowed to speak at the hearing.
"It's kind of like one of those town hall meetings where the town's not invited," he said.
A spokeswoman for Allard said the hearing has a strict format and speakers had to be approved by the Senate Budget Committee.
The nine scheduled speakers include Gov. Bill Owens, Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer, Mesa County Chief Deputy District Attorney Dan Rubenstein and Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Robert Rector.
Immigration hearings
• TODAY: American Friends Service Committee, 6 p.m., St. Joseph's Redemptorist Church gymnasium, 605 W. Sixth Ave.
• WEDNESDAY: Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., 2:30 p.m., Aurora City Council Chambers, 1515 E. Alameda Parkway, Aurora
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