The San Miguel Basin Forum noted last year that through surveys gearing up for the 2024 election West End residents reported some of their issues of most concern being “the economy and cost of living” and “immigration.”
President Joe Biden’s immigration policies were quite open-door, though before that President Barak Obama’s were more middle road and focused on deportation of criminals. President Donald Trump’s administration aims to be tough on immigration, and there’s been discussion in communities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) having a stronger presence, removing undocumented peoples from jobs and schools.
The Forum designed a poll with five questions to get a sampling of the West End, since this issue has been reported as a top concern, and because it’s also being discussed at the state and national level.
The Forum did ask respondents to give their names and contact information, only to ensure those participating were from the West End. The Forum is defining the West End as the area that stretches from Norwood to Paradox, including Redvale, Naturita and Nucla.
The Forum did receive some criticism via email about the survey, since terms like “illegal” and “criminal” were not defined, or perhaps weren’t the proper words. Additionally, some said questions didn’t offer opportunity for explanation, and a few people wanted to justify their answers.
The questions were as follows: Should we deport all immigrants here illegally? Should we use the military to help with that? Should we focus on those here illegally with criminal records? What about those who came here as children who are still illegal? Should we deport if it means separating a family?
Respondents could only choose “yes,” “no,” or “maybe.”
The intention was to grab a sampling of data from those in the West End, a general idea of the collective, and the data does include respondents from fire and EMS, education, business, the elderly, government and more. A variety of ages participated.
The method of obtaining the data was through Google Forms, and the program does calculate results immediately, as the responses come in. The software creates pie charts to illustrate the total data for each question.
As of press time, more than 50 people had responded. Those results were as follows: Regarding deportation of all those in the U.S. illegally, the West End is apparently split. While 23.1% say “maybe,” 38.5% say “yes,” and 38.5% say “no.”
About using the military to help with deportation, there was a majority, 44.2%, who said “no,” though 36.5% said “yes,” and 19.2% said “maybe.”
When it comes to deportation of criminals, 80.8% of the West End supports that, and 17.1% said “maybe.” Less than 1% said “no” to deporting criminals on U.S. soil illegally.
Regarding children who came to the U.S. and who are “illegal,” 42.3% do not wish to deport them, though 28.8% would support that, and 28.8% said “maybe.”
On the question of separating families, 40.4% don’t wish to separate families, but 25% would support that, and 34.6% said “maybe.”
Norwood Mayor Candy Meehan stated that she doesn’t believe in applying “broad brushstrokes” to complex issues, recognizing that there could be impacts on service-based communities. At the same time, she emphasized the importance of ensuring that violent criminals are removed and do not return.
Meehan also noted concerns with the current system, describing it as complicated and filled with bureaucratic hurdles, which can make the path to citizenship challenging. Having personally assisted individuals through the process, she expressed understanding and compassion for those navigating it.
“We need to approach this thoughtfully, no matter which direction the administration decides to take,” she said.
Naturita Mayor Gene Greenwood told the Forum the proper word is “illegal,” rather than “undocumented.”
“If you came into this country and didn’t do a work visa, you broke the law of the United States of America. That’s an illegal alien,” he said. “If I break the law, I’ve broken the law.”
He added he has no problem with immigrants who go through the proper channels, obtaining work visas. But, he doesn’t support open borders at all. He said he’s not just pointing fingers at those incoming from Mexico, because there are a variety of people entering the U.S. illegally from all over, and it’s worrisome to him for security reasons.
“Start with criminals and gangs and drug dealers,” Greenwood said.
Nucla Mayor Kirk Yerke was not available for comment.
