Re: “Denver is not a sanctuary city,” Sept. 13 editorial.
Denver is a sanctuary city and everyone but The Denver Post knows it.
The Post’s editorial makes the bold statement that “Denver is not a sanctuary city” and attacks me by name eight times. Yet, some of the Post’s assertions in Mayor John Hickenlooper’s defense are laughable.
According to The Post, “Denver has been a leader in an effort to join the Secure Communities Program.” That is an absurd statement. The Secure Communities Program has been languishing in a bureaucratic ice cave since ICE proposed it in April 2009. Denver has been an obstacle to its adoption, not a leader.
The Denver City Council’s recent move to require some city contractors to use the federal E-verify program comes four years after a state law establishing that mandate for companies doing business with state agencies.
Even at this late date, Denver can’t bring itself to impose that requirement on all city contractors. As usual, Hickenlooper was AWOL.
The Post says Denver is no different than other Colorado cities, yet Denver’s Police Operations Manual (section 104.52) still requires a police officer to get a supervisor’s approval before calling ICE, and a September 2006 Police Training Bulletin tells police officers they need not call ICE in the case of street arrests and traffic stops. Both documents are in violation of SB 06-090.
The mayor likes to claim that Denver “made over 7,000 reports to ICE” since SB 06-090 was enacted. Really? Has anyone at The Post looked behind that number? Did anyone notice that according to official state numbers, the Denver Police Department — the people who actually make arrests — made only 105 reports to ICE in 2009 out of over 63,000 total arrests and over 120,000 traffic stops?
Citizens who agree with the editorial board at The Post and approve of the way Denver avoids enforcing immigration laws should vote for John Hickenlooper for governor. Then all of Colorado will look like Denver. I don’t think the majority of Coloradans want that much of Denver in their future.
Tom Tancredo is a former Republican congressman from Colorado who is now the American Constitution Party’s nominee for governor.
