Yesterday, the Senate gave final approval to HB21-1057, sponsored by Senator Robert Rodriguez, that seeks to protect immigrant communities and promote public safety. This bipartisan bill would ensure that a victim’s immigration status is not used as blackmail to keep them from reporting domestic violence, child abuse, sex trafficking, forced labor, wage theft or other illegal activity.
“This bill is about public safety. If we value public safety and want to ensure that crimes are prosecuted, then it is vital to ensure that victims of crimes, regardless of immigration status, never have to worry about reporting crimes to law enforcement for fear of retaliation from the perpetrator,” said Senator Rodriguez, D-Denver. “We have a responsibility to redress the social harm that many undocumented individuals face. This bill will address the nuances of discrimination by implementing an additional layer of protection that reflects the social realities undocumented communities across Colorado regularly face.”
Overall, this bill would expand SB06S-004, which created a criminal extortion crime specific to threats made based on a victim’s immigration status, but was too narrow because it did not provide protection for some other common extortion scenarios. Two recent cases in Boulder County illuminate scenarios in which money or a thing of value is being held over the head of victims.
In one case, there was a domestic violence incident in which the perpetrator told the victim not to report the assaults, harassment, and other violations to the police or they would contact ICE to get the victim deported.
In a second case, a contractor refused to pay their subcontractors earned wages, and when the workers demanded payment, the contractor threatened to call ICE.
With the Governor’s signature on HB21-1057, these scenarios and more would be covered to ensure that no person’s immigration status will be leveraged as a form of extortion.
To read the bill in more detail, visit leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb21-1057.