Congressional candidate Ryan Frazier held a telephone town-hall meeting on the Mexican border Tuesday night to discuss illegal immigration, a move slammed by his opponent’s campaign as a “silly gimmick.”
Frazier and Lang Sias also traded barbs on illegal immigration during two recently televised debates between the Republican candidates for the 7th Congressional District.
Frazier’s hour-long phone call from Nogales, Ariz., at times sounded like an infomercial, with the candidate giving his website address, touting border pictures posted on Facebook and asking listeners to punch “1” if they have already received their ballot or would like to volunteer on his campaign.
About 7,000 people were dialed in at one time, said Frazier’s spokesman, T.Q. Houlton.
“I believe that the federal government has failed to do its job,” Frazier told listeners. “Being down here on the border, I heard firsthand from folks who have had to deal with the situation.”
Frazier, an Aurora City Council member, also announced he recently got unanimous support from a council committee to have the police chief include data in future annual reports about illegal immigrants and how often the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement responds.
What Frazier didn’t say is the action happened Monday, the day after the airing of the 9News debate in which Sias said there is no record of Frazier during his two council terms “having raised or taken leadership or even used the bully pulpit on the issue of illegal immigration.”
Frazier fired back that at least he had a record to examine. Sias, a pilot and National Guardsman, hasn’t run for office before.
Sias’ campaign manager, Sean Walsh, on Tuesday called the Nogales visit a “contrived and inappropriate photo op” that would do “nothing to secure our borders or add new solutions to a serious national security problem.”
Houlton questioned whether Sias’ campaign considered border visits by former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo and his successor, Mike Coffman, “inappropriate photo ops.”
“Sias’ attempt to distort Ryan’s record is just a political distraction from the issues . . . and their deteriorating campaign,” Houlton said.
Frazier and Sias discussed illegal immigration during debates on “Your Show,” sponsored by 9News, and “Colorado Decides,” hosted by CBS4 and KBDI-Ch. 12.
On “Your Show,” Sias said Frazier until recently advocated “we get rid of certain penalties on illegal immigrants, specifically the three- and 10-year bans.”
Immigration rules bar those who are in the country illegally and leave from attempting to return for three or 10 years, depending on how long they were in the U.S.
“That doesn’t appear in any of what he is putting out these days,” Sias said. “I do think he owes a bit of an explanation of his evolution on that issue.”
“I have never, never advocated for removing penalties,” Frazier countered. “I’ve simply said that what we need to do is put in place the ways in which we can provide solutions to the illegal immigration problem, and the three- and 10-year bar is not helping that.”
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
