Greeley – A new resolution asking for a federal immigration enforcement office in Weld County is free of racial overtones but will still be opposed by most Latinos in the community, an activist said Wednesday.
The resolution was produced by Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck at the request of Greeley’s Human Relations Commission. That body is slated to recommend whether the City Council should endorse a request by the Weld County Commissioners to invite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office into Greeley.
ICE investigates and detains illegal immigrants who have committed major crimes in U.S. cities, among other things. Local Latinos attacked the first resolution Buck helped write, saying it unfairly singled out illegal immigrants as the source of crime in Weld County.
They also charged that the old resolution was a broad swipe at all Latinos that was racially motivated. The revised resolution avoids targeting illegal immigrants and is an improvement, said John Bach of the United Hispanics of Colorado.
“I compliment Ken Buck for taking on this problem with labeling any segment of society,” Bach said.
Still, many Latinos feel the ICE office will be used to intimidate residents who are in Greeley legally.
“The city will have to bear the consequences of having an ICE office here, and innocent people will be hurt by it,” Bach said.
But Buck says ICE is just one tool to be used to fight a growing problem of illegal immigrants breaking the law.
“It is my duty to do everything in my power, including working with other law enforcement agencies such as ICE, to prevent crime and protect the members of the Weld County community,” Buck said.
Earlier this week, Buck said, the Weld County Drug Task Force arrested several illegal immigrants in possession of methamphetamines and weapons.
“I see it nearly every day, the criminal element of illegal immigrants coming into Weld County,” Buck said.
State Rep. Dave Schultheis of Colorado Springs, an outspoken advocate of tougher immigration laws, on Wednesday urged the Greeley City Council to pass a resolution seeking an ICE office.
“I urge you to ignore charges of racism,” Schultheis said in a letter. “They are meant to intimidate you as an elected official.”
Greeley Mayor Tom Selders said he hopes the council will take up the complicated issue sometime this month.
“I understand he (Ken Buck) is trying to take a proactive approach, and I commend him for that,” Selders said. “We just have to be very careful in how we go about doing it.”
