At least one Mancos resident has received anti-immigration mail, and Marshal Justen Goodall warned locals to be on alert.
Goodall called it a “scam.”
Goodall said the Marshal’s Office was made aware of the incident after the recipient brought forward the mail received.
In this instance, Goodall said, the letter claimed to represent the National Police Association. He added that the letter stated that Mancos has been designated as a “sanctuary city” by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and used anti-immigrant rhetoric to solicit donations.
“There is no supporting documentation showing the town of Mancos is a ‘sanctuary city,’” Goodall said.
An email sent to The Journal, purportedly by Ed Hutchison of National Police Association, told The Journal in an email that the 501(c)3 nonprofit did not call Mancos a “sanctuary city.” In fact, the letter obtained by The Journal and addressed to a Mancos Post Office box, told the recipient that he lived in a “Sanctuary Area.”
He declined to speak with a Journal reporter on the phone.
Goodall said he knew of only one recipient who received the letter.
“Do not give money to people that call on the phone or send letters with threatening statements,” Goodall said.
This article was updated on March 27 to include statements rebutting the Mancos marshal’s statement.