Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

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Monday, March 15, 2010

Disagreement over effect of new Greeley ICE office - The Denver Post

Disagreement over effect of new Greeley ICE office - The Denver Post

GREELEY — Operations at a controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office are revving up, heartening local law enforcement, while reviving criticisms that the facility will further divide Greeley along racial lines.

"It's the same argument we've had before; it hasn't changed," said Latino activist Sylvia Martinez. "We don't need this here, and it's going to scare away a lot of workers for the local economy."

Equipment and agents are filtering into the office at 4645 18th St., where ICE operations previously housed in Brush will be consolidated.

"The office is not yet fully operational," said ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok. "The computers are being installed, and we'll probably have a grand opening in a few weeks."

The Greeley branch will handle workforce investigations as well as gang activity, money laundering and smuggling.

Several funding snags delayed the opening of the office for more than a year despite lobbying for the facility by such officials as former U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard and Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck.

The General Services Administration says it entered into a five-year lease for the Greeley building with an option for another five.

Another ICE office opened in Colorado Springs in November.

The Greeley office faced opposition, mostly from local Latinos who say it will be used to intimidate law-abiding workers who come here to earn money in restaurants, construction sites and farmland.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am a third-generation latino. My parents grew up in the Greeley area. My relatives are established and well known, and it is an utter insult for some bullshit government agency to come to a town like Greeley, to "fix" some of the illegal immigration problems they face. Yes, they will be there in force, to intimidate, profile, and hurt people of all walks of life; law-abiding citizens.

There's no question this country has gone backward the last eight years when it comes to human rights. The wild west is back.