Denver, CO – On Sunday, the gubernatorial candidates missed the mark when it comes to real immigration reform in their written responses to immigration questions posed by the Denver Post. The following is a statement from Julien Ross, Executive Director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition:
“ Each of the candidates failed to grasp the fact that enforcement-only measures are not going to fix the broken immigration system, uphold our nation’s values, or strengthen the economy. Instead of taking the opportunity to talk to Colorado voters about immigration in a rational and intelligent manner, every candidate ran as far to the extreme as they could.
“ Given that poll after poll shows that the majority of Coloradans and voters nationwide support comprehensive immigration reform, as outlined by Senators Schumer and Graham and supported by President Obama, this strategy makes no sense. Which gubernatorial candidate will represent the majority of voters? It seems strange and shortsighted that in this midterm election year focused on getting out the base, all three candidates are trying to bring the extreme fringes to the forefront of their outreach strategy.
“ All the candidates should have called for bipartisan federal reform that would focus enforcement resources on the real threats to our nation and create legal pathways for families, workers, and students who are here to contribute to our society. This kind of reform remains the only workable solution. The rest is just rhetoric and demagoguery, and Coloradans have had enough of that.”
