GREELEY, Colo.-
Greeley could have a federal immigration office by the end of the year, officials said Friday, capping months of sometimes contentious debate.
A Department of Homeland Security review released this week said Greeley needs an office because of its size, “gang activity and several work site locations that need additional focus.”
Sen. Wayne Allard believes that means the department’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency will open an office in Greeley, perhaps by the end of the year, Allard spokesman Steve Wymer said.
“From our interpretation of the report, we expect Greeley will get an office,” Wymer told The Associated Press. “We don’t expect it to take long.”
The Homeland Security review’s findings, first reported on the Greeley Tribune’s Web site Friday, were welcomed by prosecutors and police officers but condemned by a Hispanic activist.
Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck said an immigration office would help police “by deporting more gang members and help with issues of identity theft.”
In an e-mail to the Tribune, Weld County Sheriff John Cooke said an office “will be beneficial to the Greeley area due to the volume of foreign-born (inmates) at the jail and to help fight crimes like identity theft.”
Robert Cordova of El Voto Latino in Greeley said he was “very disappointed” by the finding.
“I am sure that the Latino community will want all the facts that would warrant an (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) office to be revealed, and I am sure we will debate this latest move,” he said.
Some Greeley residents have been fighting the proposal for months, saying it would fuel racism.
Immigration has long been controversial topic in Greeley. In December, ICE raided Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in Greeley and in five other states, arresting 1,282 workers. Of those, 246 were charged with identity theft and the rest with immigration charges.
Allard, R-Colo., persuaded Congress last year to require that ICE review Greeley’s needs. He said the report confirms what local law-enforcement officials have told him.
“Having an ICE office in Greeley will provide a vital law-enforcement presence in northern Colorado,” he said in a written release.
ICE currently has offices in Alamosa, Brush, Craig, Denver, Durango, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction and Pueblo. The ICE review concluded that the Brush office could be relocated to Greeley, the Tribune reported.
ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok refused to say how many people ICE has in the state, citing “operational security reasons.”
