Colorado Senate advances immigrant protection bill aimed at limiting enforcement actions in state

The Colorado Senate advanced a bill Monday to expand protections for immigrants and limit where federal agents can enforce immigration law If Senate Bill becomes law it would prohibit federal immigration enforcement from entering non-public parts of detention facilities without a warrant limit access to residents child care centers schools and fitness care facilities expand the prohibition on the disclosure of personal identifying information or immigration status and prohibit the delay of a defendents release from custody because of an immigration detainer It would also prohibit other states from sending their National Guard units or other military units into Colorado without the governor s approval or federal orders We can t control what the federal executive does or does not do Sen Julie Gonzales a Denver Democrat and sponsor of the bill revealed We can ensure that the constitution protects us all and we as a state have the right to not be commandeered by the federal authorities She warned of immigrant communities and mixed-status families not wanting to call law enforcement out of fear of deportation and ongoing lawsuits against the federal executive over its deportations including in Colorado On Monday a federal judge in Denver held a hearing about the ongoing restraining order preventing the Trump administration from deporting two Venezuelan men under a law The administration has invoked the law the Alien Enemies Act to deport immigrants to a mega prison in El Salvador regardless of their country of origin The U S Supreme Court over the weekend also temporarily paused deportations of immigrants in northern Texas The bill passed on a near-party line vote with Sen Kyle Mullica of Thornton the only Democrat to say nay He stated he needed more time to process a series of amendments introduced ahead of the vote Related Articles New Colorado junk fees law signed by Polis will prohibit common apartment charges require transparency Immigration bill childhood sexual abuse amendment and veto override up in Colorado legislature this week Colorado s first-in-the-nation sperm donor rules just took effect Now lawmakers may roll a few back In Colorado bill debate over social media and porn sites when does protection of kids become overreach Moving gun ammunition behind the counter Polis first veto and more from the Colorado legislature this week A coalition of immigrant rights advocates dressed in white cheered from the Senate gallery when it passed the chamber Sen Paul Lundeen a Monument Republican and head of the Senate GOP opened his remarks opposing the bill by quoting from The New Colossus the poem tied to the Statue of Liberty and its famous lines Give me your tired your poor Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free But the bill would potentially undermine federal law enforcement he revealed We are a nation of immigrants Lundeen explained And coupled with that inextricably so and why we re tussling right now we re a nation of laws as well This particular law goes too far Greater precision is needed still The bill still requirements a vote in the House before it goes to Gov Jared Polis Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot