Feb 07 2006
Colorado Springs Library Helping Illegals
Consulate Library Use Blasted:
By PERRY SWANSON THE GAZETTE
The Colorado Springs Gazette
The Pikes Peak Library District risks helping illegal immigrants by letting the Mexican government use one of its buildings, state Rep. Dave Schultheis said. The district has offered free use of a room in its Sand Creek branch Saturday for officials from the Mexican Consulate in Denver to issue passports, identification and other services.
‘This event is a maneuver to obscure the fact that this local government is potentially aiding those in this country illegally,’ Schultheis said in a statement issued Friday. ‘The library should not place itself in that position.’
A library official on Monday dismissed the allegation. Spokeswoman Dee Vazquez said the library allowed free space to the Mexican Consulate on two occasions last year. The Mobile Consulate events also take place around a vehicle parked outside the library, she said.
The library frequently provides space for nonprofit groups and other agencies that offer public services, Vazquez said. ‘It’s business as usual for the library district, nothing out of the ordinary, as far as we’re concerned,’ she said.
Schultheis’ statement said federal law prohibits helping, assisting or encouraging illegal aliens. He said Monday that wasn’t meant to suggest the library was violating the law.”
