Small Victory in Colorado: For Now

Today CO's immigrants can rest easy for now as the CO Supreme Court handed a blow to the anti-immigrant foes. AP reported that the CO Supreme Court ruled that the Defend Colorado Now's proposed constitutional amendment - a proposal to deny most state services to illegal immigrants - cannot appear on the November ballot.

According to the ruling, Defend Colorado Now touted the possibility of reducing taxpayer expenditures by restricting illegal immigrants' access to services, as well as the goal of restricting access to services.

So who is Defend Colorado Now (DCF)? DCF was started by Tom Tancredo which now includes known Republican-lite Democrats.

Former Gov. Dick Lamm and two other Democrats said a proposed ballot initative to stop illegal immigrants from getting government services sends a message that Colorado will not tolerate such immigration...

During a sometimes testy news conference at the Capitol, the Democratic trio was unable to say what services illegals are receiving that they would stop receiving if the initiative passed in November.

Immigration is expected to be a hot topic this year at the legislature, which convenes a week from today.

tags: immigration


Thanks to the kind folks at SoapBlox Colorado, they have already dissected the proposed constitutional amendment and the motive behind it. It seems that the Defend Colorado Now's proposed constitutional amendment as actually had no teeth and was mere race-baiting. Pacified at SoapBlox Colorado provides a link to a Mike Litwin's column in the Rocky Mountain News which breaks down the proposal.

I hate to waste your time, but don't blame me. Blame Dick Lamm. Blame Tom Tancredo. Blame the people at Defend Colorado Now.

They want to amend the Colorado Constitution with an amendment that does ... absolutely ... nothing.

Let me repeat that.

It's a proposed amendment - and one that will almost certainly pass - that does ... absolutely ... nothing.

It is supposed to be an amendment addressing the problem of illegal immigration in Colorado.

It doesn't - in any serious way.

It is supposed to be an amendment that has some impact on illegal immigration in Colorado.

It doesn't - in any way at all.

The proposal does - say it along with me - absolutely nothing.

If the amendment passes, nothing changes - except the size of the state constitution, which grows even more unwieldy. (Oh, and there is Section 2, which says that any citizen can sue any jurisdiction for not enforcing laws against illegal immigrants. File that under frivolous lawsuits in the making.)

Sadly, even some Democrats have fallen prey to the Tancredo meme by race baiting an anti-immigration amendment.The ruling may mean the issue is dead for now, therefore it is a victory for immigration rights, but the anti-immigration foes are still plotting.