Colorado voters will decide this November if law enforcement must alert the U.S. Department of Homeland Security if a person charged with a violent crime or repeat felony is in the country illegally.
Initiative 95, backed by the conservative Advance Colorado Institute, was cleared for the ballot Friday afternoon. Backers collected nearly 190,000 signatures to earn a spot on the ballot. It would need a simple majority to become law.
In a news release announcing the signature petition, backers of the measure featured quotes from prominent Colorado and national Democrats supporting deporting violent criminals, though none have apparently endorsed this specific measure.
“Even states like California and New York allow for cooperation with Homeland Security when law enforcement is dealing with a violent criminal,” the news release from Advance Colorado states. “Colorado does not.”
Colorado law prohibits law enforcement in the state from cooperating with immigration enforcement. In the spring, deputy with the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office resigned after he tipped off Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers about the location and immigration status of a University of Utah college student driving through the area.
Immigration data shows thousands of people without proper legal status have been arrested in Colorado over the past year, most of whom had no prior criminal convictions.
The ballot measure comes during an intense crackdown on immigration across the country, with the most intense recent focus on Minnesota. Democratic lawmakers are planning a slew of bills in this legislative session in response to the federal push, including one to further limit how local officials can interact with federal immigration officers.
