Colorado senate passes bill targeting 'sanctuary cities'
A bill targeting immigration "sanctuary cities" won its initial vote Thursday in the state Senate.
The bill, by Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Castle Rock, passed on a voice vote with little debate. It would require local police officers to report suspected illegal immigrants they arrest to federal immigration agents.
It also requires cities to report immigration arrests to the Legislature.
An earlier version of the bill would have required police to call the feds every time they found a suspected illegal immigrant, whether or not an arrest was made...
No senator voted against the bill Thursday.
"One of the concerns we have is this is federal law, and when we incarcerate (immigrants) at the state or local level, we don't get compensation to incarcerate them," said Sen. Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus. "If somebody illegal commits a crime, yes, they need to report it. I think we all agree on that."
