GREELEY, Colo.-
The mayor of Greeley, where a Swift & Co. meatpacking plant was raided by immigration officials, plans to push for immigration reform in a visit to Washington on Thursday.
Mayor Tom Selders will visit Washington with several religious groups to press Congress and the White House for change. He was set to present during a hearing on the social impact of raids on families and communities.
“I’m not making a stance one way or the other, but I am saying that we need some policies that work,” Selders said. “Every time there is a raid, it creates a lot of turmoil in the community, and I think we can overt that turmoil by having better policies.”
The raid at the Swift plant in December rounded up about 260 workers in Greeley in what was described as a U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigation of identity theft.
Eighteen of the workers were charged with identity theft, but District Attorney Ken Buck said most of the workers who were taken were using an identity other than their own. Those charged had more concrete evidence against them, Buck said.
Buck said the mayor’s move seemed counterproductive. By saying that the raids were wrong means that he supports illegal activity, Buck said.
“What he is saying is that he is opposed to enforcing the law,” Buck said. “When an elected official suggests that we should not abide by the law, it is never a good thing.”
Selders said he is not excusing the actions of the workers taken in the raid but sees the problems that immigration has caused in Greeley.
“Both sides have to have some understanding of the other side’s position. We are very polarized in Greeley,” he said.
Congregations Building Communities was sponsoring his trip.
