Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle reads Juan Juarez' monologue For A Piece of Paper as part of Motus Theater's Moving Stories that Move Us Forward at the Dairy Arts Center on Sunday. For more photos and video go to www.dailycamera.com Paul Aiken Staff Photographer April 30 217

BEST BEST BEST BEST Boulder Police Chief Greg Testa hugs Oscar Juarez after reading his monologue Little American Kid as part of Motus Theater's Moving Stories that Move Us Forward at the Dairy Arts Center on Sunday. For more photos and video go to www.dailycamera.com Paul Aiken Staff Photographer ...

BEST BEST BEST BEST Boulder Police Chief Greg Testa hugs Oscar Juarez after reading his monologue Little American Kid as part of Motus Theater's Moving Stories that Move Us Forward at the Dairy Arts Center on Sunday. For more photos and video go to www.dailycamera.com Paul Aiken Staff Photographer ... ... April 30 217

Longmont Public Safety Chief Mike Butler stood side-by-side with Hugo Juarez, a local undocumented immigrant, and told the story of Juarez's frustration at being labeled a criminal despite his many accomplishments.

After the reading, Butler declared that Juarez is not a criminal.

"Having a police officer saying it to me and reading my story, that's powerful," Juarez said. "It opens up doors. It's OK to talk to police. It's OK to report crimes."

The stories of six undocumented immigrants were told through performances by local law enforcement leaders Sunday at a sold out Motus Theater show at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder. A recording of the performance is available on the Motus Theater's Facebook page

Boulder Police Chief Greg Testa hugs Oscar Juarez after reading his monologue, Little American Kid, as part of Motus Theater s Do You Know Who I Am? performance Sunday at Boulder s Dairy Arts Center. For more photos and video, go to dailycamera.com. (Paul Aiken/Staff Photographer)

Butler, Boulder police Chief Greg Testa, Lafayette police Chief Rick Bashor, Louisville police Chief Dave Hayes, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle, Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett, University of Colorado police Chief Ken Koch and CU Assistant Vice Chancellor of Safety Melissa Zak all took part.

Kirsten Wilson, the artistic director at Motus Theater, said the "Do You Know Who I Am?" project was conceived about five years ago to allow undocumented immigrants to tell their stories in a moving way, educating the community and providing a release for the immigrants.

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Motus Theater has been putting on this show for years, but Wilson had the idea to add a twist and decided to ask law enforcement officials to read the stories the actors wrote — the first time anyone else has done so.

Freed from concentrating on their performances, the actors said, they re-lived their experiences as they listened to others tell their stories.

Ana Casas, through District Attorney Garnett, told the story of her brother's deportation to a violent city in Mexico shortly after he turned 18.

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While he made mistakes, getting arrested for smoking pot and getting caught with people who were robbing houses while not robbing them himself, the penalties were much harsher for him than non-immigrants, she said.

"Having Stan Garnett even accept to read my monologue, it's validating," she said. "It validates that the system is not just."

A question-and-answer session was held after the performance.

One audience member asked how the law enforcement leaders would share the experience with their departments. Another asked Butler's take on the proposal to make Longmont a sanctuary city for undocumented immigrants.

He said the label is less important than how the police department actually treats immigrants.

"It's not what we call ourselves, it's who we are," he said, noting that the police department is actively working to build trust and let people know they can access police and other city services without fear, regardless of their immigration status.

Pelle said law enforcement agencies need to unite and fight the federal effort to force police officers into the role of immigration agents.

"That's going to require some financial courage and philosophical courage," he said.

More important than debating labels, Garnett added, is pushing to change national immigration policies.

"What we really need to do is carry a message nationally," he said.