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NEWS RELEASE
October 6, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Terry Graham
Robert Copley, Jr.
Fred Elbel
Charlie Vons
Frosty WooldridgeCITIZENS ASK GOV. OWENS TO ACT ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
A group of Citizens today delivered petitions* to Governor Bill Owens asking him to immediately declare a State of Emergency in Colorado "to halt the terrible social and economic impact of illegal immigration."
The petition also asks Gov. Owens to issue an immediate executive order reversing all written and de facto sanctuary policies for illegal aliens throughout Colorado; to designate sports arenas, former military bases and other facilities as overflow holding areas for illegal aliens awaiting deportation -- ending current catch-and-release policies -- and to enforce the Official English? clause of the Colorado Constitution.
Terry Graham, an immigration-moratorium advocate, devised the petition and gathered signatures over the past month.
Graham was joined at the State Capitol this morning by Colorado Minutemen co-founder Robert Copley, Jr; Fred Elbel, Director of the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform (CAIR); Charlie Vons, Co-Director of the Colorado 911 Visibility Project; and immigration-reform journalist and talkshow host Frosty Wooldridge. "Colorado is being destroyed by illegal immigration," said Graham, a Republican from Boulder County. "Governor Owens has a sworn duty to uphold the law, and protect, defend and serve his constituents and employers -- the Citizens of Colorado."
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano have declared States of Emergency in response to problems associated with illegal immigration.
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*PETITION TEXT BELOW:
To Colorado Governor Bill Owens:
We, the undersigned Citizens of Colorado, demand that you immediately take the following steps to halt the terrible social and economic impact of illegal immigration in the State of Colorado:
1) Declare a State of Emergency in the State of Colorado
2) Issue an Emergency Executive Order reversing all written and de facto "Sanctuary" policies throughout Colorado
3) Issue an Emergency Executive Order designating sports arenas, former military bases, and other faciltiies as "overflow" holding areas for illegal aliens awaiting hearings and deportations (ending dangerous catch-and-release policies)
4) Establish and imnpose financial and other personnel sanctions against State agencies and employees who conduct State business in languages other than Colorado's Constittutuionally designated "Official English."
We ask that you uphold your Oath of Office and take these steps without delay.
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