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Colorado Advocacy Groups Warn Against Harmful Impacts of the HR29|S5

January 30, 2025
Press Release
  • ICE Resistance
  • Immigration Reform
  • CIRC

Denver, CO – Today, President Trump signed into law HR 29/S 5, a piece of legislation that promotes divisive and harmful policies under the guise of public safety. This law represents a sweeping attack on all immigrant communities, empowering anti-immigrant officials to further scapegoat and target people who are integral members of our families and neighborhoods.

“While we all want to live in safe communities, we know this law will not make our communities safer,” shared Nicole Loy, Policy and Campaigns Manager with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC). “Instead, it creates a chilling precedent by mandating the detention of immigrants who are merely accused of certain offenses, undermining the fundamental principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty, and further criminalizing black and brown communities, who are already unfairly targeted by law enforcement.’ This law will further erode trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities, leading to fewer crimes reported, and making everyone less safe.

What HR 29/S 5 Does:

  • Expands Mandatory Detention – The law forces ICE to detain certain immigrants indefinitely, even if they have not been convicted of any crime. A mere accusation, false arrest, or admission of a minor crime like shoplifting can result in months or years of detention while an immigration case is pending.
  • Empowers States to Sue the Federal Government – The law allows anti-immigrant state attorneys general to sue the federal government over immigration decisions they disagree with, creating chaos and wasting taxpayer dollars on politically motivated lawsuits.
  • Drives Up Incarceration and Profits Private Prisons – If implemented fully, the law would increase immigrant detention by over 250%, forcing ICE to detain an estimated 110,000 additional people and costing $86 billion in taxpayer dollars over three years. The primary beneficiaries of this policy are private prison corporations profiting from mass incarceration.

This law weaponizes the legal system to fast-track the mass incarceration and deportation of immigrants while enriching for-profit detention facilities. At its core, this legislation is a transparent effort to further the mass detention and deportation of immigrants while lining the pockets of for profit detention facilities. 

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called out the true motivations behind the bill: “Look no further than the price tag of this bill, $83 billion. [Lawmakers] know that it can’t be paid for. They know that the capacity is not there, and you know what will be there? Private prison companies are going to get flooded with money.”

Here in Colorado, we remain committed to being a firewall against federal overreach and xenophobic policies. Our state has taken important steps to ensure that families stay together, regardless of immigration status, and that every individual is treated with dignity and respect. We cannot allow this dangerous law to undo that progress or normalize cruelty as an acceptable political strategy.

We call on local leaders, elected officials, and all Coloradans to reject these harmful measures and attempts to vilify and criminalize our immigrant community and stand firm in support of policies that reflect our shared values of safety, justice, and opportunity for all like a path to citizenship for the immigrants who call the US and Colorado home. The passage of HR 29/S 5 is a stark reminder of the need to fight back against anti-immigrant rhetoric and advance solutions that truly strengthen our communities.

Now, more than ever, we must unite to demand a just immigration system that protects the rights and humanity of all individuals.

Signed,

Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC)
Colorado People’s Alliance (COPA)
Juntos Community
Colorado Jobs with Justice
American Friends Friends Services Committee (AFSC)
Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN)
The Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning
Meyer Law Office (MLO) 
Interfaith Solidarity & Accompaniment Coalition (ISAAC) of Northern Colorado