What is Amendment 81?
Amendment 81 will expand ICE’s power in Colorado by permanently amending the Colorado Constitution and overriding current state laws limiting ICE authority. Under Amendment 81, state and local law enforcement are required to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when they charge Coloradans with certain crimes and before a court has decided if that person is guilty or not.
If Amendment 81 passes, it will expand ICE’s power in Colorado, open the door to Coloradans being targeted by ICE based on how they look or talk, and take away Coloradans’ due process rights by requiring law enforcement to report them to ICE before a court has found them guilty of a crime and before they have a chance to prove their lawful presence.
How will Amendment 81 expand ICE power and presence in Colorado?
Amendment 81 requires local law enforcement to report any Coloradan to ICE whose lawful presence cannot be determined and who doesn’t have documents on them, like a passport, within 72 hours of being charged with certain crimes — before they’ve been found guilty of a crime. A missing document, like a passport or ID, shouldn’t land Coloradans in the hands of ICE.
Colorado has laws that protect our communities from ICE overreach. Amendment 81 would expand ICE’s power in Colorado, requiring local law enforcement to act as an arm of the Trump administration’s deportation machine.
How does Amendment 81 threaten Coloradans’ right to due process?
When people in Colorado are charged with crimes, they have the right to due process. This means they are innocent until proven guilty as they navigate the judicial process. Due process includes the right to counsel, a speedy trial, a jury of their peers, and the right to challenge their accusers. Amendment 81 requires Coloradans to be reported to ICE when they are charged with certain crimes, before any conviction, and it denies the opportunity for those accused of crimes to clear their names.
Under Amendment 81, local police would be required to report someone to ICE simply because they have been charged with a crime and can’t quickly prove their lawful presence — all before any court has found them guilty of the charges.
Who is supporting Amendment 81?
Amendment 81 is supported by Advance Colorado, a dark money group that is funded by allies of the Trump Administration. Learn more about Advance Colorado.
How might Amendment 81 put a burden on law enforcement and lead to Coloradans being targeted based on personal characteristics?
Amendment 81 is so broadly written that it does not define how state and local law enforcement are required to enforce the law if it passes. There are no requirements around how law enforcement is supposed to determine whether someone is here legally. This lack of clarity leaves state and local law enforcement in a challenging situation and will lead to inconsistent and uncoordinated enforcement as they are forced to make on-the-fly decisions or follow conflicting policies about how to follow Amendment 81’s mandates.
Does Amendment 81 impact citizens?
Yes. All Coloradans could be impacted by Amendment 81. The amendment subjects all people in Colorado who are arrested and charged with certain crimes (or any criminal offense if they have a prior felony conviction) to the ICE reporting requirement. If law enforcement cannot determine that someone charged with these crimes is lawfully present in the U.S. within 72 hours, they are required to report that person to ICE.
Because the amendment doesn’t define how law enforcement determines if someone is here lawfully, people who are citizens but don’t carry a document like a passport on them, or people here lawfully who don’t carry their legal documentation on them, could be unable to prove their lawful presence within that short timeframe and be subjected to the overreaching immigration enforcement being conducted by ICE under the Trump Administration.
Who is opposing Amendment 81?
Amendment 81 is opposed by state and local law enforcement, educators, elected officials, and organizations across the state of Colorado. See who opposes Amendment 81.