Senate Bill 276 seeks to close Colorado’s anti-immigrant urban-rural divide

We hear a lot these days about Colorado’s urban-rural divide — the disconnect between the needs and values of Front Range cities and those of the Western Slope or Eastern Plains.

It’s easy to overlook the reality that there’s more that unites us than divides us. Despite our differences, we’re all Coloradans, after all. And we all abide by a similar standard of rules and values.

Except, of course, when we don’t. Case in point: a state law prohibits state agencies from sharing personally identifiable information about any individual (unless required by federal or state law or a court order) with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities — yet knowingly allows local governments to do so. And because of this policy loophole, urban counties like Denver have proactively passed their own local policies to protect data privacy for their residents while counties like Garfield have taken the opposite approach.

The lack of consistency in data privacy policies essentially has created two Colorados — a friendly, more welcoming Colorado in urban communities and progressive counties, and a far more hostile, anti-immigrant Colorado in rural, conservative counties where local authorities eagerly collaborate with immigration enforcement authorities.

For the benefit of all Coloradans, this dysfunctional divide must change. It’s time to pass Senate Bill 276 and close the loophole that allows local governments to violate the civil rights of people in Colorado based on immigration status.

Allowing two sets of standards for data privacy in Colorado is simply untenable. State laws about due process or civil rights must be applied statewide and should not change based on local politics. Yes, local governments should be allowed to govern for the benefit of their local communities, but Colorado’s values and standards must remain consistent across all four corners of the state.

As a Latino who grew up in the Roaring Fork Valley, I know that the experience of rural immigrants is very different from that of immigrants on Colorado’s Front Range. I also recognize the importance of rural immigrant voices in these public policy debates. Rural immigrants should not have to live in a different Colorado than others. The federal government will come to our communities with or without an invitation, and whether it’s Garfield County or Denver County, all communities must be held to the same Colorado standards.

Representative Elizabeth Velasco, from Glenwood Springs, one of the main sponsors of the bill, also understands this issue. She has been working with her constituents and many other Latinos from other rural counties for more than two years to better understand how the urban-rural divide plays out in our community.

Given the threats to our communities in 2025, this proposed legislation strengthens accountability, clarifies loopholes in state law, and starts to address other issues like protecting immigrant students and their families at school or at the hospital. These adjustments are not only reasonable, they are imperative.

Colorado understands the positive impacts immigrants have on our state’s culture, social fabric, and economy — generating some $54 billion in economic output — and if we fully support immigrants through forward-thinking, inclusive policies during these challenging times, Colorado can unlock even greater potential for growth and opportunity for all.

Colorado values must be embedded in state policy, and we must ensure that every county and every local municipality understands and implements those values statewide. The senate has already passed SB25-276, and the House should do the same. Gov. Jared Polis should sign the bill into law as soon as it reaches his desk. By passing SB25-276 we can ensure that the civil rights of all Colorado residents will be protected to the same standard, as they ought to be.

Alex Sánchez is the founder and CEO of Voces Unidas de las Montañas and Voces Unidas Action Fund, immigrant-created advocacy organizations based in Colorado’s Western Slope.