The bill makes changes to the employment verification process and the associated fines. The bill directs state and local officials and agencies (officials and agencies) to fully comply with and assist in the enforcement of federal immigration laws. A law enforcement official and agency must make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of a person during any legitimate contact if reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an unlawful alien, unless the attempt would hinder an investigation. A law enforcement official or agency may not solely consider race, color, or national origin in determining and verifying immigration status, except to the extent permitted by the United States or state constitution.
The bill creates the immigration enforcement mission fund to consist of civil penalties paid for certain violations of the bill. The department of public safety may use the moneys in the fund to offset costs of immigration enforcement and to reimburse local governments for costs of county jails. Officials and agencies may not:
- Restrict sending, receiving, or maintaining immigration status information or exchanging the information with other governmental entities for specified purposes; or
- Adopt policies that limit immigration enforcement. The bill creates the following crimes related to unlawful immigration and outlines penalties for the offenses:
- Willfully failing to complete or carry an alien registration document, but the offense does not apply to a person who maintains authorization from the federal government to remain in the United States;
- Stopping and blocking traffic to hire and pick up passengers for work at a different location or entering a vehicle for the purpose of being transported to work at a different location;
- Knowingly applying for, soliciting, or performing work in Colorado if the person committing the action is an unlawful alien;
- If a person knows or recklessly disregards that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law: 1) transporting or moving the alien in Colorado, in furtherance of the alien's unlawful presence, in a means of transportation; or 2) concealing, harboring, or shielding the alien from detection in any place in Colorado; and
- If a person has committed another offense, encouraging or inducing an alien to enter the state when the actor knows or recklessly disregards the fact that the alien's entrance will be in violation of law. A law enforcement official or agency must impound or immobilize a person’s vehicle if it is used to unlawfully transport, move, conceal, harbor, or shield an unlawful alien, subject to exemptions for child protective services workers and emergency responders. A law enforcement officer may arrest a person without a warrant if the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has committed an offense that makes the person removable from the United States.
Year
2011
Current status
- 1/21/2011 - Introduced in House: Assigned to Agriculture, Livestock & Natural Resources