In a move to protect illegal aliens in his state, Democrat Governor Jared Police issued a directive banning any Colorado state agency from sharing information with ICE.
According to the new directive, Colorado agencies cannot release the personal information of anyone living there (legally or illegally) to federal agencies using the data for immigration enforcement.
In other words, Democratic Governor Jared Polis directly instructed state agencies to prevent federal agencies from doing their job.
In cases where an illegal alien may have committed a crime, Colorado agencies are no longer permitted to give pertinent information to the federal government if it might result in immigration enforcement.
Rather than prioritizing the rights and well-being of American citizens, Governor Police appears more intent to virtue signal to the far left.
More details on the Governor's directive below:
President Trump has delivered on his key 2016 campaign promise to "build the wall."
Building the wall is just one component to securing the U.S. border and reforming our immigration system.
Democrats, however, seem intent on turning their cities and states into sanctuaries for illegal aliens.
Rather than prioritizing actual law-abiding American citizens, many Democratic leaders such as Governor Polis seem to promote illegal immigration.
According to the Colorado Sun, Governor Polis tried to sneak this guidance into public policy:
Gov. Jared Polis quietly issued guidance this week barring state agencies from releasing Coloradans’ personal information to federal entities that plan to use the data for the sole purpose of immigration enforcement.
The directive issued Wednesday prevents U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other federal agencies from gathering data unless they have a court order or are investigating a crime.
Information — such as names, birthdays, social security or tax identification numbers, driver’s licenses and addresses — may not be released if its use is “solely related to federal immigration enforcement,” the guidance states.
The four-page executive guidance was issued without public notification and comes after lawmakers were working on a bill this year to outlaw information sharing for immigration purposes between ICE and state offices such as the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles. The Colorado Sun learned of the guidance on Friday.
A spokesman for Polis, Conor Cahill, said the directive was “internal guidance provided to our agencies … and not an executive order.” Since it was meant for internal purposes, it was not made public.
“This guidance is about protecting the data of all Coloradans,” Cahill added.
Immigrant advocates have worried that ICE is using data from the DMV, which offers driver’s licenses to people living in the U.S. unlawfully, to help with federal immigration enforcement. The guidance is likely to cause further friction between Colorado and the Trump administration when it comes to immigration enforcement.
“My administration is focused on a Colorado that works for all, and in order for us to uphold that vision, we must make sure that Coloradans trust that they can seek assistance from the state without making undue sacrifices related to data privacy,” Polis, a Democrat, wrote in the guidance. “As our ability to utilize data to inform and improve government services for Coloradans expands, we also want to ensure that executive branch departments and agencies have policies that protect consumer data and privacy, including when handling requests for information from the federal government or from third parties.”
State agencies now have 30 days to figure out how to implement the guidance from the Democratic governor.
On the other hand, ICE has said that the refusal of the state of Colorado to help with immigration enforcement will actually put the public safety at risk.
Will Governor Polis take responsibility for the increased risk to American citizens?
It appears that Governor Polis may have taken advantage of the COVID-19 crisis to issue this guidance.
As many illegal aliens attempt to get financial assistance from the federal government, Polis' order would prevent illegals from getting caught.
According to the Denver Channel, part of this policy appears to be connected to or inspired by the coronavirus stimulus package:
But the concern about ICE’s use of state information to deport immigrants is more heightened at a time when people are trying to access assistance during a pandemic and economic shutdowns, so the advocates have been working with Polis to find another way to extend protections.
“There’s a lot of anxiety people are facing,” Gonzales, a Denver Democrat, said earlier this month.
The guidance calls for state agencies not to request information about a person’s immigration status or release it — except as required by state or federal law, for a legitimate law enforcement purpose or as authorized by the governor. That includes not providing it solely for civil federal immigration enforcement. It also lays out requirements for keeping a written request log and providing quarterly reports. Agencies have 30 days from Wednesday to adopt the policies.
This news comes just days after Governor Polis ordered that $1,500 checks be delivered to undocumented students in the state.
When will our politicians (particularly DEMOCRATS?!) realize that they're elected to serve the American people!
They represent US, not the world.
This November, the American people will have a clear choice between law and order vs. the Democratic party of lawlessness.
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