Greeley – A controversy rooted in immigration climaxed Tuesday night as City Council members voted unanimously for resolutions that backed enforcement of all laws, including immigration laws, but ducked specifically supporting the location of a federal immigration office in Greeley.
The action was so confusing that all sides claimed victory after the meeting.
But the council effectively said “yes” to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office by not saying “no,” some officials believe.
“I think this is the welcome mat that I need to send to the federal government,” District Attorney Ken Buck, who has pushed for an ICE office, said after the meeting. “I would hope that in the next year they would consider this.”
The nearest ICE field office is located in Brush, in Morgan County.
Before an overflow audience guarded by more than a dozen police officers, each of the seven council members made a point to say that a decision on an ICE office has to be made by the federal government – not the city of Greeley.
Each of them voted for a resolution that backed several law enforcement agencies – including immigration and customs enforcement – without mentioning an office in Greeley.
But when Councilwoman Pam Shaddock offered a second resolution stating, in part, that council was not supporting an ICE office in Greeley, Mayor Tom Selders countered, “Except for, we just did.” Council members then offered and approved an amendment taking the non-support language out of the second resolution.
Shaddock said after the meeting that if she thought she was supporting an ICE office, she would not have voted for the original resolution.
Sylvia Martinez, who leads the group Latinos Unidos, which opposes an ICE office in Greeley, celebrated with a crowd of about 300 gathered outside the council chambers.
Critics argue that a resolution asking for an ICE office unfairly links illegal immigrants with major crime in Greeley.
“No decision, we’ll take that,” she said. “That is what we have asked for all along. If the feds saw a need in Greeley, they would be here already.”
But Martinez – who used a cellphone to translate the entire meeting to the crowd – was less content when told of Buck’s comments.
“We wanted them to say ‘no,”‘ she said.
Despite indications from federal officials that even if a resolution passed, funding wouldn’t allow an ICE office, the issue touched a nerve.
In October, Weld County commissioners sparked allegations of racism among Latinos when they passed a resolution recommending an office. The resolution linked gang and drug activity with “illegal aliens.”
Considerable opposition led District Attorney Buck to reword the resolution, eliminating the racial overtones. But there was an aftertaste.
At Tuesday’s meeting, groups wearing stickers proclaiming “We Want Ice” argued with those carrying signs that read “No ICE Walls.”
“What these differing views have in common is fear,” Councilman Ed Phillipsen said. “The anxiety these fears create is understandable, but they are unwarranted.”
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 720-929-0893 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
