Colorado voters reject Amendment 81 immigration-enforcement measure

Police notifications to federal immigration authorities would have become mandatory

Colorado voters rejected Amendment 81 on Tuesday, and the proposal failed to win the 55% of votes required for passage. The Guardian reported that the measure would have required Colorado law-enforcement officers to notify federal immigration authorities when a person accused of a violent crime was not lawfully present in the United States or had an undetermined legal status.

The rejected amendment also would have imposed a 72-hour deadline for law enforcement to alert the Department of Homeland Security after filing charges for crimes including murder, assault and arson against a person who was possibly undocumented. The proposal covered those offenses, but its reporting trigger would have been the filing of charges rather than a conviction.

A protest against Amendment 81 took place at the Colorado state capitol building on 10 September, according to a photograph caption accompanying The Guardian’s report. Advance Colorado, a conservative nonprofit that supported the measure, reportedly argued that it would ensure public safety by removing undocumented people who had committed crimes, or repeat offenders, from the country.

The Guardian characterized the campaign as a conservative effort to require police and prosecutors to aid the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda. The proposed mechanism would have directed state law-enforcement notifications to the Department of Homeland Security, expanding cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities.

Opponents said Amendment 81 took charges as evidence of criminality rather than as allegations. Colorado Democratic Party chair Shad Murib said in a Wednesday statement, “Being accused of a crime is not the same as being convicted, and our laws need to respect that distinction.”

The rejection came amid continuing concerns about the measure. The Guardian reported that notifications to the Department of Homeland Security might place people at risk of deportation before they received a trial. Concern also grew over whether racial profiling could affect how law-enforcement officers questioned people’s citizenship status.

Murib also said: “We’re grateful to the advocates and community members who stood up for their neighbors. Colorado can hold people accountable for crimes without giving ICE more power over families who deserve fair treatment.” The statement came after Amendment 81 failed and the proposed 72-hour notification requirement did not take effect.

The result came as the Trump administration faced losses in key state and national races. The Guardian said the midterms had been widely viewed as a referendum on Donald Trump’s presidency. It also said the economic fallout from the war in Iran and contentious policies, including the ongoing immigration crackdown, had jilted many Americans.