Colorado voters reject Amendment 81, a measure to force police to notify ICE

Colorado voters have rejected Amendment 81, a conservative-backed ballot measure that would have forced police and prosecutors to help carry out the Trump administration's deportation agenda. The measure failed to receive 55% of the vote on Tuesday, according to The Guardian ¹.

What the measure would have done

Amendment 81 would have required Colorado law enforcement to notify federal immigration authorities if a person accused of a violent crime was not lawfully in the U.S., or if the person's legal status was undetermined ¹. It also set a 72-hour deadline to alert the Department of Homeland Security after charges were filed for crimes such as murder, assault and arson ¹.

The Colorado Politics ballot guide said the notice would go to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The rule would also have covered anyone charged with any crime who had a prior felony conviction and whose lawful presence officers could not confirm ².

Supporters, including the conservative nonprofit Advance Colorado, argued it would improve public safety by removing people who had committed crimes or were repeat offenders ¹. Backers also said it would restore cooperation between local police and federal authorities ².

From Channel GOPTrump on pardoning officials: "I'd be allowed toDonald Trump · 201 plays · captioned, with the source named

Why opponents objected

Critics said the measure treated criminal charges as proof of guilt rather than as allegations ¹. Reports to the Department of Homeland Security could have put people at risk of deportation before they had a trial ¹. There was also concern about racial profiling in how people's citizenship status was questioned ¹.

Immigrant advocacy groups and several district attorneys opposed the measure ². Current Colorado law, passed in 2019, bars officers from arresting or holding someone solely on a civil immigration detainer, which is a federal request to keep a person in custody ².

Being accused of a crime is not the same as being convicted, and our laws need to respect that distinction,

Shad Murib, the Colorado Democratic Party chair, said in a statement that he was grateful to the advocates and community members who stood up for their neighbors ¹.

Colorado can hold people accountable for crimes without giving ICE more power over families who deserve fair treatment,

What happens next

Because voters said no, Colorado's current limits on local involvement in civil immigration enforcement stay in place ². The ballot booklet described a "no" vote as keeping current law ². The Guardian's report did not say whether supporters plan another attempt.

The result came as the Trump administration faced what The Guardian called sobering losses in key state and national races ¹. The outlet said the midterms were widely viewed as a referendum on Donald Trump's presidency. It cited the economic fallout from the war in Iran and policies including the ongoing immigration crackdown as reasons many Americans have jilted ¹.

That matters because immigration enforcement is felt locally, in county jails, courthouses and neighborhoods. In Colorado, voters were asked directly whether their police should serve as a pipeline to ICE. A majority did not want that, and the measure failed to receive 55% of the vote ¹.

The Record

1. Jan 1, 2019Colorado law bars officers from arresting or holding someone solely on a civil immigration detainer; the 2019 date is the year the article gives, not a specific day ².
2. Oct 2, 2026Colorado Politics explains Amendment 81 to voters, noting backing from Advance Colorado and opposition from advocacy groups and several district attorneys ².
3. Nov 3, 2026Amendment 81 fails to reach the 55% of the vote needed to pass ¹.

Free to reprint Republish this story on your site or in your newsletter

Any site, blog or newsletter may run this story free of charge. Keep the credit line and its link to the original, do not sell it, and edit only for length or house style (the full terms). Photos carry their own licenses, noted under each photo on this page, so use the text alone unless a credit says otherwise.

<h2>Colorado voters reject Amendment 81, a measure to force police to notify ICE</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files National Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/colorado-voters-reject-amendment-81-a-measure-to-force-police-to-notify-ice">The GOP Files</a> on Thursday, November 5, 2026.</em></p> <p>Colorado voters have rejected Amendment 81, a conservative-backed ballot measure that would have forced police and prosecutors to help carry out the Trump administration&#39;s deportation agenda. The measure failed to receive 55% of the vote on Tuesday, according to The Guardian .</p> <h2>What the measure would have done</h2> <p>Amendment 81 would have required Colorado law enforcement to notify federal immigration authorities if a person accused of a violent crime was not lawfully in the U.S., or if the person&#39;s legal status was undetermined . It also set a 72-hour deadline to alert the Department of Homeland Security after charges were filed for crimes such as murder, assault and arson .</p> <p>The Colorado Politics ballot guide said the notice would go to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The rule would also have covered anyone charged with any crime who had a prior felony conviction and whose lawful presence officers could not confirm .</p> <p>Supporters, including the conservative nonprofit Advance Colorado, argued it would improve public safety by removing people who had committed crimes or were repeat offenders . Backers also said it would restore cooperation between local police and federal authorities .</p> <h2>Why opponents objected</h2> <p>Critics said the measure treated criminal charges as proof of guilt rather than as allegations . Reports to the Department of Homeland Security could have put people at risk of deportation before they had a trial . There was also concern about racial profiling in how people&#39;s citizenship status was questioned .</p> <p>Immigrant advocacy groups and several district attorneys opposed the measure . Current Colorado law, passed in 2019, bars officers from arresting or holding someone solely on a civil immigration detainer, which is a federal request to keep a person in custody .</p> <blockquote><p>Being accused of a crime is not the same as being convicted, and our laws need to respect that distinction,</p><p>&mdash; Shad Murib, chair, Colorado Democratic Party</p></blockquote> <p>Shad Murib, the Colorado Democratic Party chair, said in a statement that he was grateful to the advocates and community members who stood up for their neighbors .</p> <blockquote><p>Colorado can hold people accountable for crimes without giving ICE more power over families who deserve fair treatment,</p><p>&mdash; Shad Murib, chair, Colorado Democratic Party</p></blockquote> <h2>What happens next</h2> <p>Because voters said no, Colorado&#39;s current limits on local involvement in civil immigration enforcement stay in place . The ballot booklet described a &quot;no&quot; vote as keeping current law . The Guardian&#39;s report did not say whether supporters plan another attempt.</p> <p>The result came as the Trump administration faced what The Guardian called sobering losses in key state and national races . The outlet said the midterms were widely viewed as a referendum on Donald Trump&#39;s presidency. It cited the economic fallout from the war in Iran and policies including the ongoing immigration crackdown as reasons many Americans have jilted .</p> <p>That matters because immigration enforcement is felt locally, in county jails, courthouses and neighborhoods. In Colorado, voters were asked directly whether their police should serve as a pipeline to ICE. A majority did not want that, and the measure failed to receive 55% of the vote .</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/colorado-voters-reject-amendment-81-a-measure-to-force-police-to-notify-ice">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/colorado-voters-reject-amendment-81-a-measure-to-force-police-to-notify-ice.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

Copy the HTML Paste it into your editor's HTML view. The one-pixel image at the end tells our newsroom the story ran; it stores no reader data.

Sources

1. The Guardian, “Colorado rejects conservative effort to require police to cooperate with immigration officers” (2026-11-05). theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/04/colorado-rejects-conserv
2. Colorado Politics, “Amendment 81 | Local cooperation with federal immigration authorities” (2026-10-02). coloradopolitics.com/2026/10/02/cooperation-immigration-enfo

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.