Gov. Bill Ritter took a controversial step in the last days of his governorship yesterday when he announced Colorado will participate in the federal background check program meant to target undocumented immigrants with criminal records for deportation.
Yesterday, La Plaza reported that Ritter was seeking to get Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to agree to several provisions to the controversial Secure Communities Program before agreeing to implement it in the state.
The outgoing governor said in a statement yesterday that Colorado’s program would contain the months-long debated modifications. These will include an exemption for domestic-violence victims and witnesses that will grant them unique treatment under the program and ICE will also send quarterly reports to the state so it can evaluate how Secure Communities is working in the state.
“My office has worked closely with stakeholders and the federal government over the past few months to address Colorado-specific concerns and modify the standard Secure Communities agreement,” Mr. Ritter said.
While Republican leaders are praising the move, immigrant rights and civil liberties groups in Colorado say the program should have been rejected.
“As the last act of Governor Ritter, it sends a terrible message to the people of Colorado that our civil liberties and our civil rights can be violated,” said Jessie Ulibarri, public policy director for the A.C.L.U. of Colorado at a news conference after the announcement. “It incentivizes racial profiling by allowing police officers to stop people they suspect of being undocumented.”
The Secure Communities program is currently in effect in 35 other states.
Any police official that refuses to enforce our laws need to be kicked off the force. They cannot pick and choose which laws to enforce and allow criminals to run free. They are also very un-American!!