Border cop in mirror Letter to the Editor - Denver Post (September 17, 2002)--
Let me get this straight: The Mexican Consulate gives you . . .Re: "Tom Tancredo, border cop," Sept. 14 editorial.Let me get this straight: The Mexican Consulate gives you the names and address of Mexican nationals living here illegally so that you will print a sympathetic story about their inability to access a state-subsidized education for their son.
You do so, giving them front-page prominence, including pictures, while knowing full well that their status here places them in jeopardy of being deported.
Then when I ask the INS what they are going to do about the situation, you make me out to be the heavy!
I am not sure whether you, the Mexican Consulate or the family here illegally should get the chutzpah of the year award, but you are all in the running.
Evidently none of you is concerned about the fact that your story is a slap in the face to everyone who plays by the rules and jumps through all the hoops to get here legally - not to mention the millions who are waiting to do so.
Why should anyone go through the brain damage and expense of obeying our laws when all they have to do is sneak into the country? Not only will they get a free K-12 education for their kids, someone will probably pick up the tab for college expenses.
And if that's not enough, they stand a good chance of becoming celebrities for breaking the law!
And as for your suggestion that my involvement is an unacceptable interference with the executive branch perhaps The Post should search its files to see just how many times you either agreed with or demanded such intervention. You need only go back to the stories dealing with congressional hearings on Enron and other corporate bad guys to see how selective is your outrage.
There is not a single colleague of mine - including Diana DeGette - who has not called an executive branch agency to lobby, request action, cajole or threaten. Every agency has a legislative affairs division to deal with the literally thousands of congressional communications it receives every year.
Let me suggest a condensed version of the editorial you published on Saturday. It could have simply stated, "Tom Tancredo was right to do what he did, but damn, he made us mad when he did it."
U.S. Rep. TOM TANCREDO
Littleton
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