DENVER — In an exclusive interview with Denver7, U.S. Representative Gabe Evans, who represents Colorado's 8th Congressional District, detailed the first piece of legislation he plans to introduce in Washington, D.C.
The Unhandcuffing Police to Locate and Interdict Foreign Transgressors (UPLIFT) Act uses Colorado's immigration challenges as a springboard.
"This was something that we talked about on the campaign trail. So this is one of those promises made, promises kept scenarios," Evans said Wednesday.
When asked what the bill will accomplish, Evans said, "It really does exactly what it says, which is making sure that our state and local law enforcement is empowered and uplifted to be able to work with their federal counterparts to be able to get folks who are committing crimes in our community and who are illegally present out of our communities."
The bill specifically targets Colorado's immigration laws by:
- Prohibiting a state or local government from restricting public servants from sharing information with federal immigration officials (Prohibited under Colorado Senate Bill 21-131)
- Prohibiting a state or local government from restricting public servants in facilitating contracts with private companies for immigrant detention (Prohibited by Colorado House Bill 23-1100)
- Creating a private right of action for victims of certain felonies, including murder and rape, to sue a state or local government entity that refused to honor an immigration detainer request and released the individual who later committed the crime. Also clarifies the authority of ICE detainer requests and grants legal immunity to officials complying with said requests (Prohibited under Colorado House Bill 19-1124)
- Requiring the Department of Homeland Security to report to Congress on an annual basis which jurisdictions are not complying with provisions of this law
Under Colorado law, local law enforcement agencies are limited in their interactions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Evans cited The Preamble of the U.S. Constitution as a way for the federal government to intervene.
"When you have a very clearly defined threat like that, there is a constitutional and federal prerogative to make sure that we are protecting our community, that we're protecting our country," he said.
Attorney and former State Representative Joe Salazar said this bill will cause conflicts between state and federal laws.
"We have the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. It reserves rights to states. And one of the things we have as reservation of rights is being able to develop our own legislation and pass our own laws without the federal government coming in and messing with our laws," said Salazar.
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Salazar was part of a group of legislators who wrote Colorado's immigration laws as we know them today. He said Evans' bill goes against a key part of the Republican platform, which prioritizes state's rights.
"What he is attempting to do here is not only erase the 10th Amendment of the United States Constitution but Republican's own talking points because you know how they stand there and talk about state’s rights and individual rights and things of that nature? Well this goes completely against the grain of what they’re always talking about," said Salazar.
Denver7 took that claim to Evans.
"That's why I led with that constitutional explanation because you have that obligation to respect the Tenth Amendment, which says that all things that are not expressly delegated to the Constitution are reserved to the states. But as we just talked about, this is something that is expressly delegated to the federal government under our Constitution," said Evans.
The Colorado Attorney General's Office is responsible for enforcing the state's immigration laws.
Colorado AG Phil Weiser responded to the announcement of Evans' bill Wednesday and said in part, "As Attorney General, I will continue to defend Colorado and fight unlawful efforts by the federal government to coerce Colorado law enforcement to be diverted to immigration enforcement and from keeping our communities safe.”
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