Gov. Jared Polis on Friday signed into law a sweeping expansion of Colorado’s existing immigrant protection policies, further limiting interactions between federal officers and local officials. 

The measure, Senate Bill 276, was a top priority for Democrats in the state legislature who have moved to insulate Colorado from President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies and his call to carry out the “largest deportation in the history of our country.” 

Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs, a lead sponsor of the bill, said it will be especially impactful to rural resort communities where immigrants make up a large portion of the workforce. In some counties, including Summit, Eagle, Pitkin and Garfield, school districts see student populations that are around half or more Latino. 

The measure comes as some Western Slope communities report an uptick in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity. 

“It’s definitely a win for Colorado, especially in a time when we’re seeing a lot of ICE activity around our mountain communities,” said Velasco, the state’s first Mexican-born legislator. “We want to make sure people’s constitutional rights are upheld.” 

Alex Sánchez, president and CEO for the Western Slope-based immigrant advocacy group Voces Unidas, called the measure a “move in the right direction.” 

He added it is also “the beginning of where we most likely will have to come back to the legislature in future legislative sessions to be able to do the right thing for Coloradans.” 

What the law does 

Colorado has already passed measures restricting state agencies from sharing personal immigration-related information with federal officers, prohibiting federal arrests in state courthouses, and barring local governments from partnering with ICE to detain people facing civil immigration proceedings. 

SB 276 builds on those existing protections. 

It extends the ban on data sharing between state and federal officials to include local governments as well as the state’s judicial and legislative branches, unless provided with a valid warrant. It also prevents spaces like schools, hospitals and child care centers from providing ICE access to private spaces and information about enrolled children or patients without a warrant.

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In school districts that have large Latino student populations, “We want them to have clarity on how to be safe, how to have their families be safe,” Velasco said. 

Local officials who violate those provisions could face $50,000 in fines, money that would be paid to the state’s Immigration Legal Defense Fund. Velasco and immigrant advocacy groups said having accountability will be important for ensuring local governments are following state law. 

Even with the current restrictions on ICE cooperation in place, more conservative Western Slope counties, including Garfield, Moffat and Mesa, have passed resolutions rejecting “sanctuary” policies and signaling they may work with federal immigration officials as needed.

“It shouldn’t (matter) whether you live in a conservative county in the state of Colorado,” Sánchez said, “the law should not be different, the enforcement of those laws shouldn’t be different, due process shouldn’t be different.” 

Sánchez said Voces Unidas plans to share information about the various aspects of the bill, including how to report local government officials who violate its data-sharing rules. 

Other provisions in the bill give immigrants without legal status the ability to challenge guilty pleas that they may have entered unconstitutionally for class 3 misdemeanors, traffic misdemeanors, and petty offenses. 

It also prevents jails and law enforcement officers from delaying a defendant’s release at the request of federal immigration officials and stipulates that the continued detainment of a person who has posted bond based on a civil immigration detainer constitutes a new, warrantless arrest. 

The bill removes a requirement for students seeking in-state tuition, or people seeking a state ID, who are undocumented, to submit an affidavit saying they have applied or plan to apply for lawful status. It also grants the governor the ability to deny access to states sending their National Guard or other military troops into Colorado to carry out federal immigration policy. 

Velasco doesn’t see the bill’s provisions as limiting local officials’ collaboration with ICE, adding, “We are just saying that people have the right to due process, that we’re all the same when it comes to the law.”

“Federal enforcement is the job of federal agencies,” Velasco continued. “When it comes to public safety, we want those dollars and those resources to serve our local communities and not be working to do the job of federal agencies.” 

Sánchez said the bill doesn’t prevent deportations from happening, adding, “I think it’s important for the community to understand that this bill or any state law does not prevent the federal government from coming into communities and separating families.” 

Clash over ‘sanctuary’ policies 

SB 276 comes as the Trump administration seeks to overturn Colorado’s existing immigration laws. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on April 30 in the U.S. District Court in Colorado claiming that the state’s “sanctuary laws” ​​violate the U.S. Constitution and interfere with federal immigration enforcement efforts. 

Republicans in the state legislature, who uniformly opposed SB 276, warned it could further make Colorado a target of the federal government and open the door to more legal action. 

Polis, in a statement after signing the bill, said Colorado is not a sanctuary state and that local law enforcement cooperates with federal authorities “in identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminals, regardless of their immigration status.”

Polis said the intent of SB 276 is to “establish guidelines for state and local governments to work with the federal government.” He added the bill, which contains exceptions when valid warrants are issued, “explicitly allows the sharing of information with federal immigration authorities for purposes of investigating a crime.”

The governor said having uniform policies and procedures for public facilities, such as schools and hospitals, will help minimize chaos and confusion. 

“At a time when misinformation and hate-fueled rhetoric are causing fear in our communities, I

appreciate the bill sponsors’ willingness to work with stakeholders throughout the legislative process to find a solution that works for all Coloradans and for state and local governments,” Polis said. “I continue to urge Congress to secure our border and pass comprehensive immigration reform, including pathways for thousands of law-abiding Coloradans to obtain work authorization.”

Velasco said legislators believe the law is constitutionally sound and will hold up in court. She said Colorado continues to be a target of the Trump administration over not just immigration policy but also transgender and abortion rights, as well as environmental goals. 

Velasco said she and other Democratic lawmakers “are not under the delusion that this is a magic wand that would make everyone feel safe. I definitely think that people are not feeling safe, but they were asking that Colorado do something and step up for our community.”