By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette
A coalition of advocacy groups and several district attorneys rallied outside the Colorado Capitol on Thursday to oppose a ballot measure that, if approved by voters in November, would require state and local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Backed by Advance Colorado, Proposition 81 would require local law enforcement agencies to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement when they charge a person who is in the country illegally with a violent crime or when the individual has previously been charged with a felony. This also applies when the person’s legal status cannot be determined.
Kristi Burton Brown, executive vice president of Advance Colorado, told Colorado Politics that the group is pursuing the measure because state law now bars law enforcement from proactively reporting violent offenders or repeat felons to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
She said that, under a recent state law, an officer faces a fine of up to $50,000 for choosing to report a violent offender to federal authorities. She also noted that other “sanctuary” states, including California and New York, include exceptions in these situations that Colorado does not.
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