The problem of deporting undocumented workers is vastly more complicated than the simple sound bite Tom Tancredo would like us to think. What do we do when the undocumented person has integrated herself into society? Her deportation will profoundly affect others, including her family, the community and the economy.
Promise Arizona helps young Moises bring this problem to the public light.
Colorado’s Tom Tancredo, who was instrumental in the passage of Arizona SB 1070, fails to address how a wealthy country resolves these issues. How does sending a hard working person back to her birth-land while leaving a grieving husband and children, a community and an employer, fit within conservative family values?
Tom Tancredo is in striking distance of becoming the next Colorado governor. The issue that wins attention is his get-tough policy with undocumented workers. He calls them "illegals". The fundamental decision voters must make, does Colorado want to be like Arizona?
Reverend Ann Dunlop addresses large crowd in Denver
Tancredo lobbied the Arizona legislature to pass SB 1070, the toughest anti-immigration law in the history of the US. The most aggressive portions were declared unconstitutional by Judge Susan Bolton, while other parts have been enjoined from enforcement pending years of litigation which the state of Arizona must fund.
Student Protest at Colorado Capitol
Arizona is a perfect example of the results of what Tancredo style aggressive immigration enforcement looks like. The state has suffered a huge blow to it's tax base, the real estate market has been devastated and government police, fire and court services have been over-taxed dealing with protests and arrests for civil disobedience.
A national boycott of the state has cost it billions of dollars. Multiple conventions have canceled, state products are boycotted and the reputation of the state as being multicultural has suffered. The vision of Phoenix, as an international city, has been quashed. Even the city of L.A. boycotted the state.
Border security is one thing. Sheriff Joe Arpaio raids of Latino subdivisions is another. Most undocumented immigrants have integrated into US society. They have mostly citizen families and children; they have bank accounts, participate in community activities; they participate in the economy, purchase services and are consumers; An employer depends upon them to show up for work each day. Repatriation shreds families and disrupts community relationships.
Promise Arizona, a membership organization which is empowering the immigrant community, helps young Moises tell his story. His mother was deported and he faces growing up in the U.S. without a mom.
Promise Arizona Works To Bring Hope To Arizona
The question for Colorado voters, are the citizens ready to accept the losses in businesses, taxes and services as has happened in Arizona? Is the state prepared to suffer boycotts? Is the City of Denver prepared to lose its reputation as a multicultural urban center? Are real estate investors willing to suffer 35% vacancies in poorer neighborhoods and suffer huge loses in property values? Is the state prepared to shred families like that of Moises?
Both Mayor John Hickenlooper and Tom Tancredo promise to generate jobs and revive the Colorado economy. Hickenlooper plans to cut taxes and create an environment for businesses to thrive. Tancredo plans to cut taxes and evict undocumented workers. Each has a plan that will affect the lives of all those who live in the Rocky Mountain State.
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