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State Rep. King wants immigration law audited

By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 14, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Updated October 14, 2008 at 1:13 a.m.

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State Rep. Steve King wants a legislative audit to determine whether Colorado governments are complying with a 2006 bill prohibiting so-called sanctuary policies toward illegal immigrants.

King, a Grand Junction Republican, said he suspects it's not being enforced, and that he began thinking about making the audit request when a man plowed into an Aurora Baskin-Robbins and killed two women and a toddler in early September.

Francis Hernandez is being held in the Arapahoe County jail, and is looking at three possible counts of vehicular homicide - though he hasn't been formally charged. Hernandez entered the United States illegally in 1991 at the age of 5 from Guatemala.

King made the official audit request Monday.

"I have suspicions that we are not following through with the full legislative intent of the law for a number of reasons - from a manpower standpoint, from a funding standpoint - and I think that's why we need to do an audit," King said. "If we are failing in our attempt to fulfill the intent of the laws, then we need to learn why we are failing."

The Senate bill was proposed in 2006 by Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Castle Rock, and then-Rep. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch. Harvey is now a state senator and ran for U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo's open seat in the 6th Congressional District but lost in the GOP primary to Mike Coffman. Tancredo was one of the most vocal firebrands on the issue of illegal immigration.

A key part of the bill requires a law enforcement official who has probable cause to believe a person arrested for a criminal offense isn't here legally to report the case to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Harvey said he supports the request for a legislative audit on his bill.

"I do not know if the Senate bill is being enforced the way it should be," Harvey said. "I think it's always prudent to go back and make sure legislation we passed on an issue as serious as illegal immigration is being enforced the way it should be."

King said there are about 60 bills that have audit requests pending, and he expects a hearing on the matter in December.

Comments

  • October 14, 2008

    2:44 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Brittanicus writes:

    ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION has become a pestilence, that is eating away funding for welfare programs for citizens and legal residence. Believe it when I say that at least a $1.trillion dollars a year is payed out, to accommodate between 13 to 30 million illegal aliens. As an example Los Angeles, Sanctuary city residents paid out $11. billion dollars to support illegal alien welfare.

    US taxpayers are supporting parasite businesses that hire illegal aliens.

    Some five million fraudulent home mortgages are in the hands of illegal aliens, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

    The middle class already overburdened with war appropriation funds, is still force to pay for the education, free health-care and Federal, state welfare handouts for illegal criminals. SIGN UP FOR THE SAVE ACT(H.R.4088) enforcement 'ONLY' law at www.numbersusa.com.

    SIGN JUDICIAL WATCH, A LEGAL ORGANIZATIONS PETITION, TO RESCIND ALL 'SANCTUARY CITIES & STATES. www.sanctuarybusters.org/?source. www.numbersusa.com to Petition the SAVE ACT. For immigration facts not propaganda or lies,

    PASS THIS ON COPY, PASTE & DISTRIBUTE FREELY

  • October 14, 2008

    4:20 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    DelawareBob writes:

    There is no question that this illegal immigration has caused more problems than anyone could have ever imagined. With the Arizona State Illegal Immigration Law upheld in the courts two weeks ago, there is no excuse for any State not to have a State law to get rid of the ILLEGAL ALIENS.

    The problems they are causing WILL NOT go away until each and every ILLEGAL ALIEN is out of this Country and back in their own country where they belong. Then, and only then, will these problems go away. America has a lot of problems right now, and ILLEGAL ALIENS do not have to be one of them.

    I'm one American that is fed up with this illegal immigration. These ILLEGAL ALIENS have NO RIGHT to be here! Clear enough?

  • October 30, 2008

    4:37 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    youshudknow writes:

    I hope that everyone here knows that Obam is for blanket amnesty, driver's licenses for illegals and prosecuting the feds for rounding up illegals on ice raids. He wants to get their vote and if accomplished, the dems will be in power till we no longer remain a country (pretty soon by all estimates).

  • November 1, 2008

    12:15 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    pfwag writes:

    If the citizens of Colorado knew how much we are paying for illegal aliens they would demand action. Eduction costs alone are $500-900 million/year - far more than the total of all the ballot initiatives asking for more money for education. The total costs are upwards of $3 BILLION/year.

    The costs are documented on a CO HD23 candidate's website: http://www.cohd23.com/Immigration.html

    While you are there, also check out the list of Colorado Victims of Illegal Alien Crime.