Earlier this month, hundreds of people joined a Zoom call hosted by Indivisible Colorado to submit questions to Senator John Hickenlooper and Colorado AG Phil Weiser. Immigration has been one of the most contentious subjects of the last few years, and over the campaign trail, President Trump promised to execute mass deportations.
Now in office, he's trying to make good on that promise. The Attorney General says immigrants are an easy scapegoat for those in power.
"Bullies and demagogues seek to make those with the least power a target for blame, for demonization, and to marginalize them. We cannot allow that to happen. We have to stand up for those who don't have a voice, for those who are afraid."
Weiser shared that his mother and grandparents arrived in America as refugees. He believes that the safe haven our country offers is not just a theoretical goal, but a tangible reality being threatened by political theater.
"The immigration system has 1. 3 million people who've had their legal process completed and who are on a list of those who might be deported. I was at a group, which was an immigration group, and they said, 'why wouldn't you just start with those individuals who have gone through the whole process?' Maybe they had requested that they could have asylum and it was denied, or maybe their removal process had come to a close.
Why would you threaten mass indiscriminate deportations based on what someone looks like, or where they live? and scare people at schools or churches or courthouses. And the answer that I unfortunately have to say is because they're not engaged in responsible governance, they're viewing this as performance."
Immigrant resources in the Roaring Fork Valley include Voces Unidas de las Montañas, Valley Settlement and English in Action. KDNK will continue to cover issues surrounding immigrant rights and deportation.
