We Need More Than Speeches

By Fidel "Butch" Montoya

The debate over comprehensive immigration reform has continued to heat up throughout this summer ever since the governor of Arizona signed the Ill-conceived SB 1070 into law.  The law allows for racial and ethnic profiling as a way to arrest, detain, and deport undocumented immigrants in Arizona.  The controversial law has several lawsuits pending against the State of Arizona, including the United States Department of Justice preparing to file suit against Arizona as well.

The proponents of immigration reform have pressured the President and top White House advisors to move forward with a progressive plan to fix our broken immigration system of laws.  There have been marches and rallies in D.C., fasts in New York City, Chicago, and other cities, civil disobedience in Denver and countless cities across the USA, and thousands of petitions and letters demanding that President Obama push the agenda of comprehensive immigration reform forward.

The opponents of immigration reform have rallied around SB 1070, threatening to introduce similar laws in the legislative sessions in at least 12 other states.  The hate, panic, and fear continue to spread as rumors and lies about undocumented immigrants are fed by the Internet groups bent on creating an atmosphere of hate and fear.  

To counter the ridiculous claims of the governor of Arizona that most undocumented immigrants crossing the border are “drug mules,” just shows how important it is to press for the truth and not the lies of the hate mongers and those who spew out evil venom of hate, panic, and lies.

There is no end in sight of the hate mongers and racists who continue to spread their lies and false rumors.  In his speech the President admitted the lack of political will to push for immigration reform. “So the politics of who is and who is not allowed to enter this country, and on what terms, has always been contentious.  And that remains true today.  And it’s made worse by a failure of those of us in Washington to fix a broken immigration system.”

When word leaked out of the White House that the President was going to give a “major speech” on immigration reform, hopes were raised, and there were new expectations of a fresh strategic legislative effort to push both parties into coming together to resolve this national disgrace of a broken immigration system. 

The stage was set at American University in D.C. for the President to finally address the nation and call for a new legislative agenda to implement a new system of immigration laws that would do away with a system of grave injustice, family separations, ICE raids, and a confusing array of law enforcement MOU’s like 287 (g) that have only allowed local cops to use racial profiling as a means of stopping and detaining undocumented immigrants. 

The primary reason police can stop Latino looking individuals are joint law enforcement programs like 287 (g) which allow racial profiling.  Police have used broken tail lights, suspicious looking drivers or passengers, and driving while breathing “brown” to pull over Latinos on our nation’s highways.

While the President has tried to shame the Republicans into supporting immigration reform, the reality is that there are perhaps as many Democrats who are afraid to push for immigration reform in a mid-term election environment filled with rumors, lies, and hate messages about undocumented immigrants. 

The President said, “In sum, the system is broken.  And everybody knows it.  Unfortunately, reform has been held hostage to political posturing and special-interest wrangling -– and to the pervasive sentiment in Washington that tackling such a thorny and emotional issue is inherently bad politics.”   

Presente.org – a national pro-immigrant civil rights organization pushing for comprehensive immigration reform criticized the President by saying, “We need more than speeches.” 

That seemed to be the general consensus from other Latino civil rights organizations across the country.  What good is another Presidential speech that does nothing but cast blame on the Republicans and whose own Democratic members continue to waffle on getting out front of this debate and who blatantly refuse to support the President’s own legislative agenda on immigration reform?     

Polls seem to indicate that most Americans want the President and Congress to do something about fixing our dysfunctional immigration laws that do more harm than good.  If one believes that more than a majority of Americans want something done, then where are the courageous leaders and advocates for justice and righteousness?

Until the President is able to put together a bipartisan group of Congressional leaders who are willing to work together to draw up a comprehensive immigration plan that addresses the immediate needs of over 11 million undocumented immigrants in our country, nothing will get done.

Much has been said and debated over the “pathway to citizenship” for the undocumented immigrants who seek citizenship.  But on the other hand, not all undocumented immigrants want citizenship, but rather a work visa that allows them to cross the border when there is work to be done and then be able to return home.  This visa needs to provide the undocumented or visa permitted workers the right to make a fair wage, expect worker protections, and have the ability to organize if necessary in order to protect their rights as temporary workers in the USA. 

Some critics of the past worker programs have claimed that the border has been left open just enough to allow cheap labor to cross the border.   The days of cheap labor are over, along with abusive employers who have taken advantage of undocumented immigrant workers in the past. 

But the sad part of the Presidential speech is that he was essentially speaking to the choir. Everyone knows we need comprehensive immigration reform.  We know the present system is broken and must be fixed. 

The President laid out the challenge facing Congress.  “Our task then is to make our national laws actually work -– to shape a system that reflects our values as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.  And that means being honest about the problem, and getting past the false debates that divide the country rather than bring it together.”

While the President calls for a more secure border, he insisted the border is the most secure than anytime in the past twenty years.  Yet the President admitted that, “Our borders will not be secure as long as our limited resources are devoted to not only stopping gangs and potential terrorists, but also the hundreds of thousands who attempt to cross each year simply to find work.”

Unfortunately we know ICE and the Obama Administration are detaining and deporting more innocent undocumented immigrants than the Bush Administration, and the President has failed to live up to his stated goals of prioritizing criminals and stopping gangs and potential terrorists.

The drug cartels and the large shipments of drugs over the border must have a higher priority than the family that is simply looking for work in the USA.

So the President gave a speech, more likely to appease his supporters.  Some pundits have claimed the President hoped the speech would motivate and challenge the Latino voter to get out and support candidates that support his policies.  It was an attempt to try and make up for his failure to prioritize immigration reform in his first year and to fire up his supporters to get out and vote.

The President gave a campaign speech, with more promises on why immigration reform is important.  In fact, it is more important today than ever before.  Instead of giving a Presidential speech with an action plan, he said nothing about ending the ICE raids, and putting a stop to the 287 (g) local enforcement programs abused by local cops that allows racial profiling and ethnic enforcement. 

We don’t need anymore speeches on why immigration reform is needed now more than ever.  It is time the President acted like the President and put a stop to the grave injustice and unrighteousness undocumented families face every day in this country.

Yes, Mr. President, we are a land of immigrants.  Together our forefathers built this country and the infrastructure that created jobs and a better life for all who sought a job and an opportunity.  Yet, along the way we have had to fight the bigots, the racists, the haters, and those whose only intent was to spew out racial hatred and push immigrants down. 

Mr. President, we hoped you would have stood up to those ugly voices of fear, panic and hate.  We wished you would have used your Executive Power to put an end to misdirected immigration enforcement programs that are only separating families and deporting good hard working men and women. 

If you really want to put an end to the drug cartels, the shipments of drugs and millions of dollars across the border, an end to the weapons we are selling to the drug cartels, then you should have declared war to end the drug cartels that continue to meet the drug demands of those Americans who live not only in the barrios, but the high priced skyscraper apartments of every city in the USA. 

Mr. President, we don’t need any more speeches.  We need a bipartisan plan of attack against the drug and human traffickers.  We need you to quiet the voices of hate and panic and move this debate from the gutter to the halls of Congress.  Mr. President, be Presidential and do what you can do to end the injustice these families must endure every day.

No one said the job of being President would be easy, but it will take a President with hope and a vision to develop an agenda that both Republicans and Democrats can accept and work together to fix our broken immigration system.

Mr. President, thank you for recommitting your administration to fighting for immigration reform, but that is not good enough.  Now it is time to move beyond just words, and take bold action to fix this problem which Lady Liberty reminds the world as a national disgrace.

 If you can take a courageous and bold effort to lead the battle to repair the broken immigration system, be assured that many Americans will be  behind you fighting the injustice and national disgrace of an immigration system that has spiraled out of control.  

Lead and we will follow your leadership.  Exemplify your courage to bring down the haters and end the venom of fear, and we will stand with you.

You gave an inspirational speech at American University, now it is time for bold and courageous leadership.  Can you make your speech a national priority and prove that you are indeed our senior ally?

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Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H. S. Power and Light Ministries - Latino Faith Initiative. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA - TV Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed to preach in 1972. He serves on the Executive Council for the Hispanic Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

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Border Out of Control?

By Fidel “Butch” Montoya

When the issue of protecting one’s home or neighborhood comes up, the first thing we say as homeowners is we should have the right to determine what we want done to protect our quality of life.

If there is one thing home owners despise, it is having outsiders telling them what they think is the best approach to dealing with any safety issues. We have heard the heated arguments and the local refrain, “We live here and we know what is best for our area.”

An article in the Texas Observer explains how border communities are finally uniting to fight militarization of the border and determine what the best policies are to secure their communities.

The main complaint residents along the border have is that they have become the victims of politicians’ hateful rhetoric bent on perpetuating the fear about undocumented immigrants.

One of the main culprits is Arizona Senator Jon Kyl who tried to get an amendment passed that would throw undocumented immigrants in jail for two weeks before deporting them back to Mexico. Kyl said this would be a deterrent to them trying again. This is just another scheme to criminalize undocumented immigrants.

According to the Observer, border communities are concerned once the Democrats realize a lot of horse trading with the GOP is going to be necessary to push immigration reform forward, “Residents are already bracing to become the sacrificial lamb for Democrats desperate for Republican buy-in on immigration reform. They're already seeing it with the 1,200 guard troops and a Predator Drone dispatched to El Paso.”

Arizona Senator John McCain is so desperate to get re-elected; he has pushed aside his personal values and political beliefs and has become one of the strongest proponents of harsher laws against undocumented immigrants.

McCain attempted to have the Senate pass an amendment sending 6,000 National Guard troops to the border. Even after losing that vote, he still managed to sneak his amendment back in a defense bill that comes up for a vote later this year.

One of the leaders of the effort to unite border communities puts the nasty debate about border safety in perspective. Louie Gilot, director of the Border Network for Human Rights in El Paso told the Observer, “We’ve got to separate border security from immigration reform. We need to have an independent voice for the well being of the communities and so the border isn’t sacrificed the next time immigration reform is taken up.”

Gilot went to mention she is a resident of El Paso, Texas, and according to the latest FBI crime statistics just released; El Paso has the second lowest level of violent crimes per capita among the top 25 most populated cities. In plain language, El Paso is the second safest city in the USA!

Putting those statistics in better perspective, El Paso with a population of about 612,000 residents had 4 homicides last year. Our nation’s capital, with a smaller population of about 592,000 had 66 murders last year.

Yet, the people leading the effort to unite border communities rightfully complain that the border area is often described by the news media and the politicians that rarely venture out of the belt way in D.C. as “a war zone.”

Gilot says one of the main problems is that these politicians have a misperception about the border, and so when they discuss border options, they are made from a “border perceived to be a war zone.”

In March 2010, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano issued a press release outlining the border security initiatives.

“Over the past year, our unprecedented cooperation with the Mexican government and sustained security efforts along the border have resulted in major progress in combating the ruthless cartels that threaten the safety of both our nations.”

Unfortunately, the Obama Administration has also taken a tougher enforcement approach in trying to secure the border, but has focused on capturing undocumented immigrants instead of closing the border to the drug cartels and gangs that are involved in human trafficking.

But as one reviews the press release, one has to wonder why an additional 1,200 National Guard troops are needed at the border at this time? Ordering troops to border is just another example of how political rhetoric and bad policy decisions are meant only to exploit the politics of immigration reform, and create more fear and hate.

Texas Senator John Cornyn perhaps best exemplifies how the fear sound bite works to stall any efforts to move immigration reform forward by exploiting the issue of the border. "Until we deal with this broken border, we are not going to be able to deal with other aspects of our broken immigration system."

If the border is still considered “a war zone,” by the politicians back in Washington, D.C., we need to demand answers from them why all of the border initiatives Napolitano claims have made it safer are not working.

The DHS press release touts the facts about border improvements that are simply hard to rationalize. “Since last March, DHS has doubled the number of personnel assigned to Border Enforcement Security Task Forces; tripled the number of ICE intelligence analysts working along the U.S.-Mexico border; quadrupled deployments of Border Liaison Officers; and begun screening 100 percent of southbound rail shipments for illegal weapons, drugs and cash—for the first time ever.”

Yes, you read that correctly. Doubled the number of personnel assigned to Border Enforcement Security Task Forces. Tripled the number of ICE intelligence analysts working along the U.S.-Mexico border. DHS quadrupled deployment of Border Liaison Officers.

Most startling to me is the fact that for the very first time ever, the U.S. government has “begun screening 100 percent of southbound rail shipments for illegal weapons, drugs and cash - For the very first time ever!”

This means that for years, our government simply ignored the fact that shipments of weapons, drugs and cash were probably being shipped across the border without any threat of government intervention. Outrageous if you ask me!

The Border Patrol in its 85 year history has doubled its agents from 10,000 in 2004 to over than 20,000 agents in 2009.

A question that must be asked is that if the Department of Homeland Security is accomplishing all of these goals and making the border safer, why it is even necessary to talk about the border as “a war zone?” Why is Senator McCain still talking about adding 6,000 more National Guard troops to militarize the border?

It is time that the President along with his Department of Homeland Security and every elected politician in D.C. stop viewing the border as “a war zone” and need to demand accountability of all the high priced technology and border personnel being sent to the border.

It is also time to listen to the people living along the border who know better than anyone else what is actually happening at the border and stop this rhetoric of fear and panic the politicians use to politicize the immigration reform movement.

Lobbying for more troops on the border, Arizona Senator John McCain said, "The borders are broken. We have an obligation to our citizens to secure our border and allow them to lead lives where they not live in fear."

If anyone knows what border policies may actually allow residents to lead their lives where they are not living in fear, it is the residents who live on the border.

So why aren’t our politicians and President listening to these people? Militarizing our borders is bad public policy. We must stop paying attention to news media reports, politicians, and opinion pundits that claim the border is out of control.

For once, why don’t we let the people most affected by the impractical border initiatives from uninformed politicians in the DC beltway have a say in what is best for their communities?

El Semanario  http://www.elsemanario.net/

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Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H. S. Power and Light Ministries - Latino Faith Initiative. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA - TV Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed to preach in 1972. He serves on the Executive Council of the Hispanic Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

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Arizona's new immigration law rebutted

Ruben Navarrette Jr.

Monday, June 7, 2010

If Arizona's new immigration law is supposed to be the best thing since warm tortillas, why do supporters have to prop it up by engaging in falsehoods and scare tactics? Let me count the ways:

The law bans racial profiling. Truth: Racial profiling is already banned by federal statute, yet it happens. The Arizona law requires that once local and state police make contact with someone over an alleged infraction, they must determine legal status if they have "reasonable suspicion" that the person is in the country illegally. It is naive to assume an officer can make that call without taking race into account.

Arizona is being invaded. The law is a cry for help. Truth: No, it's a claim to victimhood. Our society is full of people who duck responsibility for their actions by playing the victim. Now states are doing it. Arizona has illegal immigrants because Arizonans hire them. Take away the "help wanted" sign, and they won't come.

The federal government is doing nothing to stop illegal immigration. Truth: The Obama administration deported more illegal immigrants last year than the Bush administration did in its final year in office. There are 20,000 Border Patrol agents, more than any other federal law enforcement agency. The Border Patrol budget was $3 billion last year, and it has increased almost tenfold since 1992. Not exactly an "open border" policy.

The scope and intent of the law have always been clear. Truth: Supporters like to forget that there have been two versions of the law. The first was defective and had to be fixed one week after it was signed by Gov. Jan Brewer.

The Arizona law is no different than laws in other states, such as California, that require police to 'cooperate' with Border Patrol officers and allow them to inquire as to citizenship. Truth: (1) Cooperating with the Border Patrol isn't the same as impersonating Border Patrol agents; (2) California Penal Code 834b pertains to "any person who is arrested." That's the key difference. In Arizona, you need not be under arrest to be interrogated.

The Arizona law is a carbon copy of federal law. So, it can't be unconstitutional. Truth: The problem is how the law will be implemented. Under existing federal statutes, immigrants may have their citizenship questioned but only by federal agents. Under the Arizona law, that power is extended to local police. Many legal scholars believe this to be clearly unconstitutional because immigration policy is a federal responsibility and not something that can be done piecemeal by individual states.

The presence of immigrants, especially illegal immigrants, in a given town, city, county or state inevitably leads to more crime, i.e., burglary, assault, drunk driving, rape, murder, etc. Truth: For a variety of reasons, as the immigrant population increases, crime rates go down. For one thing, immigrants aren't as bold and defiant as people think. Various researchers who studied the rise in immigration during the 1990s concluded that cities with increased numbers of immigrants had the most significant drops in crime rates.

Americans show identification to cash checks, board planes, drive cars, etc. This is no different. Truth: In such transactions, we're asking for a privilege or a benefit and we willingly identify ourselves to get it. It's a quid pro quo. In Arizona, where you can be grilled for attending a house party with loud music or being a passenger in a vehicle, the "privilege" Latinos are asking for is simply to breathe. This shouldn't come at a price.

Latinos won't be racially profiled. But if they were, it would be justified given that most illegal immigrants come from Mexico and the rest of Latin America. Truth: Supporters can't have it both ways, insisting that a practice won't occur while justifying it as logical and thus likely to occur.

This law makes Arizonans safer. Truth: Quite the opposite. By sending illegal immigrants underground, Arizona has created a pool of ready-made victims who can be preyed upon at will because they won't report crimes to police. Scoundrels, thieves and predators will pounce.

If supporters of the Arizona law truly believe in this legislation, they should ditch their list of disingenuous talking points and start speaking honestly. It would do wonders for their credibility - not to mention the credibility of the dubious law they support.

San Diego Union-Tribune

To comment, e-mail Ruben Navarrette Jr. at ruben.navarrette@uniontrib.com.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/07/EDDN1DPG7P.DTL

Are We Ready To March Seven Times?

By Fidel "Butch" Montoya

Once again the Obama Administration has shown its contempt for the Latino community and its lack of political will to fix the immigration reform problem facings our country. In an obvious show of Para-military might, President Obama allowed over 800 police and law enforcement agents of ICE and other federal law enforcement agencies to conduct a series of raids throughout Arizona.

Reports from the areas raided describe a frightening scene as federal, state, and local police moving in to arrest and detain undocumented immigrants who allegedly were involved in illegal human trafficking of undocumented immigrants in the shuttle service industry.

Kat Rodriguez of Derechos Humanos called the federal raids “a massive show of force, with helicopters, dozens of agents, police vehicles, and weapons, assaulting our community in a fashion never seen before.” A show of force whose sole intention was only to intimidate, create fear and panic.

These raids are rapidly becoming the calling card of the Obama’s Administration efforts to enforce old and antiqued immigration laws. Instead of pushing for reform, we find the President more comfortable recycling the brutal enforcement polices of the Bush Administration.

President Obama who recently claimed to support the Schumer/Graham framework for immigration reform has allowed the federal government to use all of its enforcement tactics and arsenal to continue to crack down on undocumented immigrants. In fact, this administration has a worse human rights record than that of the Bush Administration when it comes to immigration enforcement and treatment.

Senator Harry Reid’s claim last week to have 56 votes in the United States Senate to move immigration reform forward seem to ring hallow compared to the Obama’s Administration’s show of disrespect to the Latino community by allowing over 800 law enforcement agents to descend on places of employment and disrupt and destroy innocent families and personal lives.

The President who claimed to have as a national key priority the issue of immigration reform has simply allowed the Department Of Homeland Security to become the Department of Fear and Bigotry.

While our President claims to be on the side of the Latino community in fixing the immigration problem, he has allowed his Secretary of Homeland Security to become the master oppressor by allowing the largest display of federal law enforcement to suppress and intimidate our community.

Just last week in Dallas, Latino Evangelical faith leaders called upon the President to join with them in fixing the immigration problem. In a fairly soft spoken attempt at trying to rally this President to their side, the soft ball approach to the Obama Administration instead has been answered by what many are calling a complete lack of accountability by the President authorizing one of the largest raids against undocumented immigrants of his administration.

It is time to stop pretending as if this President is going to reward our community for voting for him and that we began to demand accountability of this President’s policies against creating familial separations, destroying families, and endearing itself to the evil forces of bigotry, fear, hate, and discrimination.

We need to stop counting the number of votes given to this President during the last election, and start counting anew the ones that will vote for true change and hope, not broken promises and phrases of false expectations.

While this Administration is quick to condemn the human rights violations of other third world governments, it is time that the American people understand that a government that can and will violate the rights and constitution freedoms of some will not hesitate to use that same force against others. It is time that we stood up and demanded accountability of this President and his polices of oppression.

Immigration reform leaders in Arizona are calling the massive federal raids “a new low in the Obama Administration’s lack accountability.”

We need to send the message to the President and Congressional leaders in Washington, D.C. that we are no longer going to listen to the false promises of immigration reform that come from the shallow halls of government. The half- hearted attempts to placate our efforts to find immigration reform will not be acceptable, and we must demand accountability using the mid-term elections as a means by which to register our displeasure and anger.

In Arizona where the state legislature just recently passed SB1070, a bill that essentially allows any law enforcement official who may have “a reasonable suspicion” to question anyone in the state whom they suspect may not have the proper documents to determine their immigration status is a difficult pill to swallow.

Police will have the right to stop and question anyone even if no other law has been violated. If there is “reasonable suspicion,” that you may not have the proper documentation, racial profiling will become the norm and you will be questioned.

It is under this climate of evil and anti-Latino attitudes that the President Obama ordered the largest single immigration raid in any state. President Obama has allowed governmental bureaucrats to enforce policies of the past, and has refused to implement humane and just policies that do not separate families and create fear and uncertainty in the Latino community.

He has allowed ICE to do as it pleases in enforcing its own misguided interpretation of national immigration policies to arrest, detain, and ultimately deport not hardened criminals, but men and women who support their families and whose sole attempt is to live within the framework of our United States Constitution.

It is imperative that Latino Evangelical leaders reevaluate their support of a President who refuses to acknowledge that this country must fix it immigration policies and stop violating the civil rights of Latinos.

When we allow laws that encourage racial profiling and that allow the police to stop and question any person under a racial profiling standard, we are allowing our country to slide rapidly toward the brink of becoming a police state.

A few years back, Latino Evangelical pastors refused to acknowledge that we would be facing laws that allow racial profiling, where police would be raiding homes, where Gestapo type police gangs would raid workers at their jobs, where detention facilities would be big business incarcerating and detaining undocumented immigrants without due process, and where families would be separated and destroyed by our government.

We now know that we live under a government where Gestapo type police raids are becoming the norm, where big business detention contracts are routinely approved by the government without any regard to who is being jailed, where more and more undocumented immigrants in detention are being threatened or intimidated to renounce their right to due process and as a result more immigrants are being deported, and thus allowing a government that instead of nurturing families, is out to destroy them.

The raids in Arizona only demonstrated that unless we come together and demand accountability, we will surely lose this battle against the evil forces of hate and fear.

Yet, once again last week we have found that those who claim to be our friends and allies in this fight for justice and immigration reform do not share our values or beliefs.

How then can our faith leaders pretend that the policies and governance of this President are in agreement with our vision of justice and righteousness? How can we allow this government to destroy more and more families and not raise our voice in opposition to the current policies of this government?

What will it take to create within the Latino Evangelical Church the passion to stand up for ourselves and fight for justice and righteousness?

Perhaps the best summary of the events of the Obama Raid are left to Isabel Garcia of the Tucson-based Coalicion de Derechos Humanos who said, “Instead of bringing in the Department of Justice to investigate the immigration abuses and uphold our rights, the Obama Administration sics the ICE police on our communities.”

And instead of another national gathering in Washington, D.C. to march for immigration reform again, maybe it is time we gathered together instead to demand that this President stop the raids. That he instead commit to join our fight for justice and righteousness by pursuing a policy of finding a solution to the broken immigration system that allows the fiasco that occurred in Arizona to not happen again.

Perhaps it is time that Latino Evangelical leaders take the lead of demanding Presidential accountability and stop meeting in the big house, and instead marched around the walls of the White House seven times, prepared to trumpet our demands of accountability and for righteousness judgment.

Is it time to march seven times around the walls of injustice and fear?

Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H.S. Power and Light Ministries. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; as the Manager of Public Safety for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed to preach in 1972. He serves on the Executive Council for the Hispanic Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.