Immigration agent Cory Voorhis stands by his actions.
A day after Voorhis was acquitted of improperly using a restricted federal database to obtain information about an illegal immigrant and giving it to Bob Beauprez’s 2006 campaign for governor, he has few regrets.
“If I could go back in time, I probably would not do things exactly the way they unfolded, but I think they happened for a reason,” Voorhis said in his first interview since his acquittal Wednesday on federal misdemeanor charges. “I think time will bear out that the outcome was in the public’s best interest.”
He said he spoke to Beauprez, a former congressman, and accepted his offer to help pay some of his legal bills.
“And I owed him an apology. There was always this portrayal that I was his source. But I felt I cultivated him,” Voorhis said. “I wanted people to know the hard facts and truths about what was going on.”
He also said he felt no real animosity toward the federal prosecutors — “they have a difficult job to do” — or Gov. Bill Ritter, who called for an investigation into Voorhis’ actions after information he gave the Beauprez campaign ended up in a political ad. The spot questioned deals Ritter made with legal and illegal immigrants while he was Denver district attorney.
“The move he made was political. I tried not to take it personally,” said Voorhis, a Colorado native.
Suspended from his job
Over the past 18 months, the 39-year-old agent has been suspended from his job, investigated by the FBI and tried by a federal jury. He said he, his wife, Paula, and his two young sons have relied on family, friends and credit cards to keep them afloat, yet they are still “on the brink of financial collapse.”
It is not clear whether Voorhis, a veteran immigration agent who also has served in the Army and as a Border Patrol agent, will return to his job. He still faces administrative proceedings and he seems lukewarm on the prospect of returning to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Law enforcement is a thankless, grueling job,” he said. “Officers need to wear bulletproof vests . . . with a front panel for when they’re on the street with the bad guys, and a panel on the back for when they’re in the office.”
Voorhis said he’s been offered a job with a “reputable organization,” one that pays less but would give his family a better quality of life. He didn’t discuss specifics but said it was not in law enforcement.
His motivation to give information to the Beauprez campaign, he said, was never political. Rather, he was tired of seeing both legal and illegal immigrants get plea deals only to victimize someone else.
Sixteen years ago, when Voorhis started his career fighting illegal immigration, he was told that his career would be like using a fork to move a pile of sand.
“I’ve had to learn that you don’t declare victory with one big thing,” he said. “Victory is one case at a time.”
Karen Crummy: 303-954-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com
