Colorado passes immigration package

DENVER – Ending a bitterly divisive special session of the legislature, Colorado Republican Gov. Bill Owens cut a deal with Democratic leaders on a package of bills to deny some state services to illegal immigrants and to punish employers who hire them.

But the compromise late Monday brought angry criticism of the governor from some of his GOP allies because it did not include a key Republican goal: a tough referendum on illegal immigration on the November ballot.

Owens had called the special session specifically to reverse a ruling last month by the state Supreme Court that removed the proposed referendum from the ballot. In the end, though, the governor agreed with Democratic leaders of the Legislature to deal with the red-hot political issue through legislation rather than a ballot issue.

In passing its crackdown on illegal immigration, Colorado is following the national trend in which state legislatures are taking the initiative on an issue that used to be considered a matter for the federal government.

Colorado is the home of Rep. Tom Tancredo, the Republican who has become a national leader for groups that want to increase border enforcement and deport illegal immigrants. The cause has won support from conservative Republicans here and from some Democrats, including Richard D. Lamm, who served three terms as governor.

A group headed by Lamm and senior Republicans got more than 50,000 signatures this spring to put a strict measure against illegal immigration on the November ballot. But the state Supreme Court ruled that the initiative’s wording did not meet legal standards.

Democrats, with control of both houses of the Legislature, said from the start that they wanted to avoid a divisive ballot proposal.

The key measure approved Monday would deny illegal immigrants unemployment checks, grants to pay energy bills, professional or business licenses, and some public medical care. An undocumented resident who applies for such benefits would face a fine.

For anyone younger than 18, the bill allows state services and services generally provided by local governments, such as soup kitchens.

Under federal law, many governmental services – including education, police and emergency health care – must be provided equally to all. This has been an obstacle in several state legislatures that sought this year to cut services to illegal immigrants; the Colorado bill authorizes all state services mandated by federal law.

A second law passed Monday requires employers in the state to certify that each new hire is a legal resident. Under intense lobbying from businesses, the wording was softened so that employers can be sanctioned only if they show “reckless disregard” about an employee’s background.