By Heather Willard | Fox31
DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado’s Democratic lawmakers are pushing ahead on immigration bills despite the U.S. Department of Justice filing a lawsuit Friday to challenge those laws.
One of those measures, SB25-276, “Protect Civil Rights Immigration Status,” that lawmakers are pushing forward on, focuses on protecting civil rights and immigrant communities in Colorado and was passed by the House on Saturday after amendments were made. The vote was made along party lines, with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed.
The proposed measure includes a slew of actions that are designed to protect the civil rights of immigrants, including:
- Repealing the requirement for an affidavit stating that an undocumented person has applied for lawful presence or will apply for lawful presence as soon as they are eligible when an undocumented person is applying for in-state student tuition or an identification document
- Prohibiting jail custodians from delaying the release of a defendant for the purpose of an immigration enforcement operation
- Extends the ability to petition a court to vacate a guilty plea to class 3 misdemeanors as classified at the time of plea if the defendant was not adequately advised of the adverse immigration consequences of a guilty plea or if the guilty plea was constitutionally infirm
- Extends the prohibition on local law enforcement from enforcing a civil immigration detainer to also include peace officers
- Prevents probation officers and departments from sharing personal information about a person with pretrial officers or pretrial services employees
- Prevents employees of a detention facility from allowing federal immigration authorities into the non-public portions of a detention facility unless they are investigating a federal crime or as required by a federal warrant to transfer an inmate to or from federal custody
“Colorado is stronger when we all can contribute to our economy without fear,” said Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, a Democrat representing Glenwood Springs, in a Colorado House Majority Office release. “The Trump administration’s attacks on our civil liberties have sparked chaos among our immigrant communities – parents are afraid to pick up their children from daycare, workers are scared to show up to their jobs.