WESTERN SKIES - July 23, 2005

*** IMMIGRANT ADVOCATES ***

ERIC WHITNEY: Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo made national headlines again last week for his comments about possibly bombing Muslim religious sites in response to terrorist attacks on the United States. However, it's his comments on immigration that has angered many people in the Denver area, and has brought community groups together to fight what they perceive as a rise in anti-immigrant sentiment. Maeve Conran files this report.

MAEVE CONRAN: More than one hundred people met in Denver last week to form a coalition of community groups to respond to what they describe as a rise in immigrant bashing.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We're all equal here, we all came from immigrants. Just because you have a Social Security Number, your papers, doesn't mean you're better than somebody else. When you say you're speaking for the immigrants, don't speak for them, help them speak for themselves. We need to give each other power. [applause]

CONRAN: Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo has been outspoken on the subject of immigration. As Chairman of the House Immigration Reform Caucus and founding chairman of Team America, a public action committee dedicated to securing America's borders, Tancredo says that stronger immigration laws are vital to our national security. This was an issue that he focused on during his reelection campaign last year.

TOM TANCREDO (from TV advertisement, October 2004): Now some people are attacking me for addressing the issue of illegal immigration and border security. I just returned from Russia, from a place called Beslan, where a school was destroyed and several hundred children brutally killed, by terrorists who had snuck across the border illegally. Am I supposed to ignore the possibility of something like this happening here? Not on your life. I'm Tom Tancredo and I approve this message because it can happen here.

CONRAN: Immigrant rights advocates accuse Tancredo of racism, saying that immigration and security are two different issues. Jorge DeSantiago is Executive Director of El Centro Amistad, a grass roots immigrants rights center in Boulder.

JORGE DE SANTIAGO: Closing the border to me, is not an issue of national security. Because as we know, a lot of the--what is happening in this country for terrorism and security wasn't about immigrants crossing the border undocumented, it was people coming to this country with visas. So, it's not about crossing one border, it's really to have more control about who you give visas to or not, and it's not Mexicans that is the enemy. I think the enemy in this country is here in this country with people like Tom Tancredo.

CONRAN: Tancredo, who denies that he is anti-immigrant, introduced the Real Guest Act to Congress this week, which will create a temporary guest worker plan, but would make it a felony to cross the border illegally. The Real Guest Act is one of many immigration-related bills introduced to Congress and the Senate recently. With immigration high on the political agenda, those who organized last week's meeting feel that it is important that immigrants from all ethnic backgrounds have a voice. Adrienne Benevitas, is Executive. Director of the Color of Justice, a non profit organization that does legal and policy advocacy for communities of color. She explained the reasons behind forming the coalition and what they will be working towards.

ADRIENNE BENEVITAS: To form a coalition based on that immigrants are humans, they must be treated with respect and dignity. Immigrants have a right to education, they have a right to work, and immigrant bashing should stop.

CONRAN: The coalition say they will work together to advocate for immigrants in the community through education and community activism.

For Western Skies, I'm Maeve Conran in Denver.