Hundreds of people jammed St. Therese Catholic Church in Aurora today in support of immigration reform. The gathering was part pep rally, and part political organizing. It was sponsored by Together Colorado, a coalition of religious and faith community leaders.
"We have communities and families here in Colorado that are suffering and we believe the only moral solution to our harmful immigration policy is full citizenship for the 11 million aspiring Americans and the only one that is consistent with our religious beliefs and American values," said Rev. Nelson Bock of Our Savior's Lutheran Church.
The gathering heard from several speakers besides Rev. Bock, including Fr. Steve Adams of Pius X Catholic Church, and several persons who had specific human problems related to current immigration policies.
At the center of the event was hearing from Sen. Michael Bennet and Congresspersons Jared Polis and Mike Coffman. Bennet and Polis both advocate a "path to citizenship," and their remarks were warmly received.
Mike Coffman gets credit just for showing up. Coffman is--or was until very recently--a tea party Republican. Among this constituency, anything that helps hispanics stay in this country is anathema.
Coffman's district--the 6th--has shifted out from underneath him. The lines were re-drawn by the 2010 legislature. The new 6th is now the "Aurora seat" and Aurora has a large constituency of minorities, hispanics in particular.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has targeted the seat in 2014, and former Speaker of Colorado House, Andrew Romanoff, has entered the race. Though Coffman won re-election in 2012, the vote was close, and his opponent was poorly-financed.
Together Colorado is a non-partisan organization which is affiliated with PICO, the nation's largest faith-based organizing network.
Photo: Cong. Jared Polis responds to questions from an over-flow crowd at St. Therese Catholic Church.
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