Greeley sets forum on crime by illegals

Hispanic leaders call plan divisive

Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 17, 2007 at midnight

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Controversy over a planned forum on crimes committed by illegal immigrants is fanning ethnic tensions in Greeley, prompting Hispanic community leaders to consider seeking U.S. Department of Justice intervention.

The latest source of division is a meeting organized by the Weld County district attorney called "Illegal Immigration: The Untold Stories."

Weld District Attorney Ken Buck said the meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, is strictly informational and will detail "how the crimes of illegal immigrants are directly impacting not only the legal system in Weld County but also the citizens in our communities."

But several Hispanic leaders said the event is racist because it singles out Hispanics and that it is the latest attack on a community under siege by critics of illegal immigration and others.

"This meeting will only serve to further divide this community," said Priscilla Falcon, a professor of Hispanic studies at the University of Northern Colorado.

"This meeting is about mobilizing white sentiment against the Mexican immigrant community," she said.

"As someone commented today in the (Greeley) Tribune, when are we going to have a forum where we talk about white crime?"

Community recovering

Falcon said the event comes as the Hispanic community begins to recover from the Dec. 12 raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Swift's Greeley headquarters and five other plants nationwide.

The raid resulted in 261 arrests locally and tore apart a number of families.

But Buck said the event, which will include testimony from crime victims, was designed to put "a human face" on the problem of illegal immigration.

"We're trying to promote an event that talks about victims' rights. Latinos Unidos and other groups did a good job of portraying the human side of the deportation issue after the Swift raids," said Buck. "We are simply portraying the human side of illegal immigration and crime."

Weld County Sheriff John Cooke will talk about how illegal immigration contributes to jail crowding.

A detective from the Greeley Police Department's gang unit will detail crimes committed by gang members here illegally.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cliff Stricklin will talk about the federal government's role in combating illegal immigration.

Scope of problem

Buck said the speakers will provide the "nature and scope of what we're dealing with."

For example, he said, two years ago, law enforcement estimated that approximately 10 percent of local gang members were illegal immigrants.

He also said between 18 to 22 percent of inmates in the jail are noncitizens, and that a majority are in the country illegally, based on the number of ICE holds.

Buck said he did not know the overall percentage of crimes in Weld County committed by illegal immigrants.

"Ask me how many drug dealers we have in Weld County. Just because I can't tell you how many there are doesn't mean we don't have a drug-dealing problem," he said.

Julien Ross, director of the Denver-based Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, said organizers lack hard numbers to back their statements.

"We strongly oppose this type of biased event that can spread racism, hate and false stereotypes about immigrants," he said.

"We instead call for honest, balanced and respectful debate and public education that will unite our communities around the urgent need for realistic and humane immigration reform."

About 10 percent of Weld County's population is foreign born, according to 2006 U.S. Census figures. About 20 percent of the county's residents speak a language other than English at home, and roughly 27 percent of the population is Hispanic.

Chris Garcia, a student at the University of Northern Colorado and co-chair of MEChA, a Chicano student organization, said the event was likely to attract a large number of Hispanics.

"All people talk about at these events is how we're criminals, how we bring disease and other crazy ideas. The bottom line message is Greeley is being overrun by Mexicans," he said.

"We've had enough. This meeting is just more of the same, and there is potential for some serious conflict and divisiveness."

Responded Buck: "For the longest time, this town denied we had a gang problem. People said I was being divisive. As a result, we ended up with four gang-related murders in six months. You can try to kill the messenger, but the message is very real."

Informational meeting

• What: Illegal Immigration: The Untold Stories, organized by Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck

• When: 6:30-8:30 p.m., Tuesday

• Where: Island Grove Regional Park 4H Building, 501 N. 14th Ave., Greeley

quinterof@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5250

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