Colorado part of nationwide push for ICE accountability bill
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Colorado state Sen. Mike Weissman stands with other state lawmakers at an event in Chicago about legislation to crack down on federal immigration agents. Photo: John Frank/Axios
Colorado is poised to join a coalition of states to hold federal immigration authorities accountable for fatal shootings and arrests without warrants.
Why it matters: With Congress on the sidelines, states are emerging as the battleground for efforts to challenge the "absolute immunity" federal agents have claimed.
Driving the news: A coalition of Democratic state lawmakers, including Colorado state Sen. Mike Weissman (D-Aurora), vowed Wednesday to hold U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents accountable by allowing people to sue for constitutional rights violations.
- The effort is led by the State Innovation Exchange, which developed a playbook to crack down on ICE agents that Illinois, Maryland and other states have adopted since President Trump's second term.
What they're saying: "This is part of a nationwide strategy. We are making sure that every state is free from the terror that is being enacted upon them by these rogue agencies," said EJ Juárez, the organization's executive director, at a briefing in Chicago on the sidelines of a legislative summit hosted by the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures
The big picture: The intensifying alarm about federal immigration agents comes as the Trump administration targets foreign citizens with expired U.S. visas at airports, including at least one arrest last week at Denver International Airport.
- The shooting deaths of Renée Goode and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas, and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine also are driving the conversation.
"All of us up here are state legislators who deeply believe in using the power we have under our constitution," Weissman said at the event. "In this time, that certainly includes … being able to vindicate our constitutional rights where they are under attack."
Zoom in: During this year's legislative session, Colorado lawmakers approved a measure to allow the state to conduct more frequent inspections at facilities where immigrants living in the country illegally are detained.
Yes, but: Gov. Jared Polis vetoed a bill to allow for state lawsuits against ICE agents for constitutional rights violations.
What's next: In an interview after the event, Weissman said he plans to reintroduce that bill and suggested Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Weiser is a supporter.
- "It's good policy, and I believe it's obviously constitutionally defensible policy," Weissman told Axios in Chicago. "It's just a question of what we can get done."