Gov. John Hickenlooper again finds himself having to be the arbitrator between our broken federal immigration laws and the question of what is right and just.
Ingrid Encalada Latorre — a woman who took sanctuary in a Denver church to avoid deportation for six months — has asked Hickenlooper with her two sons.
Encalada Latorre clearly broke the law. Not only did she come here from Peru illegally, she used stolen documents that she purchased to work in a country where she was barred from employment by immigration laws. She said she didn’t know the papers she bought had been stolen, and she has the support of a church community and several Colorado lawmakers, including state Rep. Faith Winter and state Sen. Dominick Moreno.
We’ve advocated in the past for three Coloradans to be spared deportation.
In February we asked that immigration officials honor our congressmembers’ request , a mother who also took sanctuary in a church.
In May we were, a man who lived in a Denver church from October 2014 to July 2015 to avoid deportation and eventually was given assurances he was no longer a priority.
Vizguerra and Hernandez Garcia have both been granted new stays of deportation.
Then, who had recently been re-released from prison only to be picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Lima-Marin had served eight years in prison for his crime and had accidentally been released early. Upon his release he built a life for himself that was taken away when officials realized their error years later and returned him to prison. A judge ordered his release and, thanks to the pardon, Lima-Marin’s deportation order is up for reconsideration.
The question is, with 11 million people living in the United States illegally, who gets to stay and who must go?
In an ideal world Congress would answer that question with an immigration reform bill that offers a legal working status and a clear framework for who is eligible for deportation.
But in absence of such a law, the question now falls to an unlikely place, the governor of Colorado and an imperfect case-by-case analysis. Does Encalada Latorre deserve to be forgiven of her crime so she has a chance to remain in the U.S.? And if she does, what of hundreds of others in Colorado who likely have similar low-level documentation related convictions that could lead to deportation?
Certainly we don’t condone Encalada Latorre’s actions. Her crime wasn’t victimless — stolen identities hurt innocent Americans. But deportation — stripping someone of their home, family and friends — is too harsh a sentence.
ICE officials should have higher priorities than a young mother who admitted guilt, paid restitution, and has been trying to live her life honorably. Granting her a pardon to allow her a chance to stay — assuming there aren’t any unknown crimes or other circumstances in her background — is the right thing to do.
Now that President Donald Trump’s administration has made clear its complete disregard for the humanitarian impacts of deportation, we’re looking to leaders to step up.
Gov. Hickenlooper, we hope you’ll do the right and just thing in this case.
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