Here's an article about former Denver mayor, Federico Peña, and his involvement with immigration issues, from the Denver Post. They write, "Federico Peña knows what hope, optimism and desperation look like. He has seen all three in the eyes of immigrants. Haitian refugees floating on handmade boats trying to reach a new shore. Cubans rescued from the ocean on a quest to get to the United States. Mexicans who crossed, many through miles of desert, to work illegally in kitchens or on lawns, in fields or on construction sites, trying to make a better life for their children. And German, Irish and Italian immigrants in vivid black-and-white photos at Ellis Island, which he visited for the first time three months ago. Those interactions and his youth in a border town, where Mexican neighbors crossed each day to work on the American side - and vice versa - gave him a unique view of the nation's most contentious issue. His childhood as a 'border kid,' his family's 250-year history in Laredo, Texas, his appreciation for the contributions of immigrants and his experiences as U.S. secretary of transportation - where he oversaw the treatment of Haitian and Cuban refugees - recently met his frustration over the current debate about illegal immigration. But it wasn't until he looked at the faces of children holding signs, worried about their undocumented parents being deported and their families shattered, and waves of workers and families in the streets taking a public stand against a congressional proposal to make them felons, that his experiences and expertise combined with his passion and sense of duty.
"He had finally had enough. A rousing speech at the 'We Are America' march May 1, and his recent move to lead Keep Colorado Safe, a campaign to defeat a proposed state constitutional amendment that would curtail services for undocumented immigrants, have now put the former Denver mayor squarely in the public eye. He had kept a low profile for years, focusing on his family, privately advising and quietly supporting educational efforts. But the courage of the undocumented immigrants tugged at his Catholic morality and his border-town roots. 'There just comes a point in your life when you have to do what is right and not be worried about the naysayers or the critics or how it will be perceived,' he said. 'I have to look at myself in the mirror every day, and I don't think I would have been very comfortable had I not gotten involved'".
"2008 pres"
8:25:01 AM 
|
|
