The looming possibility of a federal immigration enforcement office in Morgan County during the late 1990s sparked the same fears among Latinos that are now being fanned in Greeley.
Residents envisioned middle-of- the-night roundups and harassment of law-abiding Latinos.
“We were worried that people would be picked while just going to the grocery store and deported back to Mexico,” said 55-year-old Fallie Chavez, a Latino and lifelong Morgan County resident.
But when the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office opened in early 2000 in the small farming town of Brush, residents say, something unexpected happened – nothing.
The four-person ICE team was more focused on jailing those involved in large smuggling operations in the western United States and helping other teams deal with terrorist threats. Locals didn’t feel antagonized. Latinos didn’t complain of racial profiling.
“It’s not like they are driving around looking to hassle people on street corners,” said Morgan County Sheriff Jim Crone. “They are way too busy for that.”
Still, Chavez and Crone understand the concerns among Latinos in Greeley, where several officials are asking that an ICE field office be placed there.
Ken Buck, the Weld County district attorney, says the office is needed to handle the burgeoning number of illegal immigrants committing crimes in the county. But many Latinos are outraged, saying ICE officers will target them whether they are in Greeley legally or not.
But all the furor and debate over the past two months may be moot, as it’s unlikely Greeley will see an ICE office anytime soon, if ever.
Colorado Springs is the next place in Colorado slated to get an ICE office because of its size and proximity to Interstate 25. But ICE is struggling with funding problems and a hiring freeze that is blunting much expansion.
“It’s up to Congress to provide funding, and like everyone else, things are tight,” said Jeff Copp, special agent in charge of ICE for the Rocky Mountain region.
ICE, a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, enforces immigration and customs laws within the United States and often deports illegal immigrants involved in crimes. Seventeen ICE field offices operate across the country.
Brush was selected for an ICE office because of its proximity to Interstate 76 – a major national thoroughfare – and because the community is still heavily tied to agriculture, a major employer of migrant workers.
To smooth the way for an ICE office in Brush, at least one public meeting was held in which ICE officials told residents about what they would be doing, Crone said.
“They sat down and talked to residents, and I think they got across that they are real people and not the federal government coming in here to take over,” Crone said. “Now they live here, got kids going to local schools and are part of the community.”
Buck believes an ICE office in Greeley is vital to fight the influx of illegal immigrants into Weld County, especially ones committing crimes.
The Weld County sheriff estimates that of the 764 inmates in the Weld County Jail in November who were foreign-born, 305 were illegal immigrants, said DA spokeswoman Thea Mustari.
“This is not a racial issue; it’s an immigration issue,” Buck said.
But many Latino residents have their doubts, including local activist Sylvia Martinez, who is a former resident of Texas, where there is a stronger ICE presence. “I personally have been stopped at a roadside station by (immigration officials) three years ago and asked for my legal status,” Martinez said.
Plenty of other Latino legal residents have endured the same treatment, she said.
“It is a practice that takes place yet some people just don’t complain because to them it is a daily thing that they have become accustomed to,” said Martinez, adding that the number of illegal immigrants in Weld County won’t support an ICE office.
The rhetoric is likely to be amplified by Dec. 20, when the City Council is scheduled to decide whether to endorse a resolution asking for an ICE office.
Chavez remembers those nervous days in Morgan County when she and her friends dreaded the idea of living in the shadow of an ICE office.
“We had lots of concerns,” she said. “But you really don’t hear much about it anymore.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
