It turns out that Colorado’s get-tough stand on illegal immigrants extends to racehorses and used cars.
The first weeks of the state’s new laws requiring proof of legal U.S. residency to get state aid and some licenses went off without major problems, but there were some unexpected glitches.
“We learned that we need more time, generally, to implement complex pieces of legislation like this,” said Liz McDonough, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Human Services.
Two thoroughbred horse owners – one from New Mexico and the other from Nebraska – learned it firsthand when they tried to race at Arapahoe Park last weekend.
Under the old rules, owners and out-of-state jockeys could show licenses from other states. The new immigration law changed that, requiring they show legal residence in the U.S.
Both owners had driver’s licenses from their home states, but neither state’s license is recognized here as proof of residency – 33 other states’ are – because application rules are more lax than Colorado’s.
“We had some problems getting someone with the right information about what to do; it was unexpected,” said Daniel Hartman, director of Colorado’s Division of Racing at the Department of Revenue.
The Nebraska owner had enough extra identification to obtain a state waiver and race, Hartman said.
The waivers were actually designed to allow the homeless and elderly homebound to get public assistance while proving they are here legally.
The New Mexico owner, however, didn’t have adequate identification and angrily stormed out, said Bruce Seymour, Arapahoe Park’s general manager.
The names of the two horse owners were not released.
To prevent future problems, the Racing Commission this week passed a rule giving owners and jockeys extra time to prove they are legal residents.
They can race but cannot collect any winnings until they prove residency. If they don’t, the purse is awarded to the next horse in the finish.
The new laws – which went into effect Aug. 1 after being passed during a special legislative session in July – also triggered a 3-year-old requirement that car dealers check a buyer’s identification.
The overlooked rule got a new life after the immigration bills passed. Problem is, the dealers checked everyone buying a car, not just those wanting to register the car in Colorado, which is all that is required.
That scared some buyers away and caused a couple of dealers who relied heavily on customers from Mexico to consider closing from the loss of business, according to the Colorado Independent Auto Dealers Association.
The most far-reaching of the immigration bills was House Bill 1023, which requires public-aid applicants to prove they are in the country legally.
The law immediately affected more than 1 million Coloradans who receive some form of public aid.
“The crunch was very difficult and time-consuming,” Human Services’ McDonough said.
Nevertheless, the laws rolled with little commotion.
Only a dozen waivers – not counting racehorses – had been approved by Thursday.
“We’ve not seen the number of people come through for waivers as expected, so we’ve learned it’s important that we understand the various benefit cycles agencies deal with,” said M. Michael Cooke, Colorado’s director of revenue.
A few things went well, though. In Denver, welfare workers worried that a Somalian refugee who came in Thursday might not qualify for aid because her last name differed from those of her two small children.
Worse, she had no birth certificates for the children. The vital records office in Somalia, she explained, had been destroyed.
Caseworkers sought help from immigration experts and learned the children’s refugee papers held a crucial code that, when matched to federal records, proved the woman was their mother.
“It worked out beautifully,” Denver Human Services spokeswoman Sue Cobb said.
Staff writer David Migoya can be reached at 303-820-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com.
