Amber Tafoya is an immigration lawyer who works for the "Center for Immigrant and Community Integration Legal Services Office" of the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pueblo (Colorado), and on Saturday she conducted an "Immigration Law & Immigrant Rights" conference for the Colorado Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (link), which is a non-profit organization apparently associated with the University of Colorado. The report by R. Scott Rappold of the Colorado Springs Gazette describes various educators and other whining about all the disadvantages illegal alien students face, but, needless to say, Rappold doesn't ask anyone whether those at the conference are part of the problem. He also gets in a plug for "comprehensive immigration reform" at the end. Please write their editor and let him know what you think: jeff.thomas *at* gazette.com.

As for Tafoya, in 2002 she appears to have worked for Colorado Legal Services (preview.tinyurl.com/2o4b6p). I wasn't able to determine if she has any links to Jared Polis, but she's quite adept with slinging the canards:

An attorney with an agency that helps undocumented workers gain legal status in the United States is criticizing El Paso County commissioners for using the murder of a Denver police officer [Denver police Detective Donald Young; Raul Garcia-Gomez was later captured and returned to the U.S.] to launch a debate about undocumented workers.

"They're tarring all immigrants with the same, broad brush," said Amber Tafoya, the supervising attorney for Southern Colorado Center for Immigrant Rights, which is part of Catholic Charities of Pueblo...

Tafoya said commissioners glossed over the reality that many foreign janitors and restaurant, construction and farm laborers in the United States are doing jobs that few Americans want.

Instead of a letter addressing the U.S. policy on immigration and the resources currently in place to target undocumented immigrants, she said she would have preferred that commissioners urge local congressional representatives to support bipartisan legislation by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. , and others. The bill would grant undocumented workers a legal pathway to citizenship, helping to end a backlog of a decade or more.

"What we need to do is address the fact that we have a broken system," Tafoya said.

Pueblo County - with apparently Tafoya as their representative, also got a grant in 2004 (PDF):

"The Colorado Trust is giving Pueblo County an opportunity to become a national leader in identifying the needs of our immigrant communities and assisting them in transitioning from their home countries to Pueblo County. This project expands the proud Pueblo tradition of inviting immigrants with unique identities and cultural traditions to be Puebloans," said attorney Amber Tafoya, spokesperson for the Pueblo County effort. "One of my long-term hopes for this project is that it will lead the way in providing immigrants with the resources and connections they need to transition from their home countries to Pueblo County while maintaining their cultural traditions," said Tafoya, a Pueblo native.

And, she's also a liar:

[Jeff Henry of the Colorado Springs chapter of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.] also plans to create an online list of local restaurants where "people can go and be assured that their food is not being prepared by somebody who may have a disease that hasn't been caught because they are here illegally."

Amber Tafoya, a Pueblo-based immigration lawyer, says that plan smacks of 1920s-style discrimination. "This is a typical xenophobic response, rather than something that is actually proven," she says. "Everyone is coming from a country where they have vaccination programs."

Catholics: please take the actions described here and here.

And, from the same state: Catholic Charities: bagmen for corrupt businesses? and Spotlight on Gould Construction.

UPDATE: This page describes a $10,000 grant that Greeley and Evans got last year from The Colorado Trust":

Joy Breuer attended the meeting with members of the group Concerned Citizens for Greeley and wore a pin reading "Enforce Our Laws." She expressed concern that the grant might be used to help illegal immigrants.

...[Greeley Human Relations Commission] Board member Sandi Elder assured Breuer that The Colorado Trust's Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families Initiative is only for legal immigrants.

Some members of Concerned Citizens for Greeley said they did not feel like their views were being represented by the commission.

"Just because we have different opinions doesn't mean we don't represent you," said commission head Ruth Slomer.