Former Denver Mayor Guillermo “Bill” Vidal was invited by Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont to testify today before the committee about the new bipartisan immigration bill.
Former Denver Mayor Guillermo “Bill” Vidal will speak today before the Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of the bipartisan immigration bill. (Manuel Martinez/Viva Colorado)
Vidal, Denver mayor for about seven months in 2011 after being appointed by now Gov. John Hickenlooper, immigrated from Cuba when he was a child. He was the first foreign-born mayor of the City and County of Denver.
Vidal will testify in support of federal immigration reform, telling his story as a Cuban immigrant who lived in an orphanage for a time before his parents were able to leave Cuba.
Now president and chief executive officer of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Denver, Vidal also had been manager of Denver’s Public Works under Hickenlooper, who resigned as mayor after being elected governor.
Twenty witnesses are scheduled to speak with Vidal’s testimony scheduled for the end of the day.
Witnesses represent labor, business, faith and advocacy groups, including United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodriguez; Microsoft Executive Vice President Brad Smith; Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist; and Center for Immigration Studies Vice President Mark Krikorian.
Critics have assailed Leahy for jamming the testimony into one day, saying it should be spread out over several hearings.
The legislation aims to provide a path to legality for many of the 11 million people currently living illegally in the United States, and to invest billions of dollars in new border security measures.
The testimony can be seen on C-span. Debate began on Friday about the bill with focus on the events in Boston.