Colorado enacts new guardrails on federal immigration enforcement

Gov Jared Polis signed a new law Friday to further limit federal immigration executives access to general buildings and local governments ability to share information with those executives Under Senate Bill local governmental entities and their employees cannot share personal identifying information with federal officers unless required to by a subpoena or warrant Populace buildings from cabinet buildings to libraries and community schools must also adopt policies preventing immigration enforcement from entering nonpublic areas of buildings without a warrant Jails also cannot delay a person s regularly scheduled release for immigration purposes The bill backed by Democratic lawmakers was a direct response to President Donald Trump s crackdown on immigration a mass wave of arrests and deportations that Trump previewed during an October rally in the state Immigration raids have since unfolded in metro Denver including the arrest of a prominent activist The Trump administration is also suing the state and the city of Denver over previous laws limiting interaction with federal functionaries That lawsuit was informed as lawmakers were actively debating SB- It remains ongoing This is a testament to Colorado s unwavering commitment to ensuring fundamental human dignity and building trust safety and respect Sen Julie Gonzales a Denver Democrat and one of the bill s sponsors revealed in a announcement Nearly every Democrat in the General Assembly voted to affirm that the division fearmongering and chaos coming from the Trump administration will not deter us May history remember those who stepped up to fight to affirm constitutional protections for all Coloradans and those who did not The bill s other sponsors were Democratic Reps Lorena Garcia and Elizabeth Velasco and Sen Mike Weissman Related Articles Gov Jared Polis vetoes bill to tighten prevention vetting of ride-share drivers in Colorado Denver sues Trump administration over threat to withhold million in transportation funding Colorado increases penalties for wage theft under bill signed by Gov Jared Polis Colorado legislators tightened regulation of the herbal remedy kratom But will Gov Jared Polis veto the bill A new website encourages transgender Coloradans to document discrimination A conservative activist says he started it as satire In a message Friday Polis who had been leery of SB- wrote that despite the bill s passage into law Colorado is not a sanctuary state He d previously described reporters that he welcomed federal immigration administration presence here though he also acknowledged that he wished he had more insight into what exactly they were doing It is fundamental for local law enforcement to continue to fully cooperate with other state and federal agencies on criminal matters including the execution of warrants he wrote In fact this is their duty But to be clear state and local law enforcement cannot be commandeered to enforce federal civil immigration laws and be taken away from fighting crime SB- also blocks military forces from other states from entering Colorado unless ordered by Polis or the federal establishment It also ends the collection of certain affidavits filed by undocumented immigrants and it expands current law allowing immigrants to contest certain plea agreements Through the passage of SB - we have ensured that Colorado will be a more prosperous resilient welcoming state for all who call it home Crystal Murillo the executive director of Colorado People s Alliance announced in a announcement This act reflects Colorado values at its finest fairness opportunity and respect for human dignity Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot