Colorado lawmakers confirmed Thursday that constitutional rights are now eligible for repair under Colorado law, provided the alleged violation was committed by the correct category of government employee.
Senate Bill 26-5 cleared the House on a party-line 41-22 vote, creating a state-level path for Coloradans to sue federal officials over alleged constitutional violations during immigration raids, arrests, traffic stops, and warrantless entries. The Senate passed it earlier this year, giving Colorado Democrats a clean chance to declare war on federal overreach without accidentally endangering any local offices with parking spots near the Capitol.
Officials described the bill as a direct response to escalating ICE and Department of Homeland Security operations, including raids, arrests, and the general federal habit of treating due process like a pamphlet left in a government break room.
“We believe strongly that no one is above the Constitution,” said one legislative source, “unless they are a district attorney, local official, or someone whose lawsuit exposure would make the wrong people start calling us.”
The bill follows national outrage over federal immigration tactics, including allegations of smashed windows, people dragged from vehicles, obstruction of recording, and worsening conditions in ICE detention facilities. In Aurora, advocates have documented poor nutrition and medical care at the privately operated detention site, which continues to perform the traditional Colorado public-private partnership function of making everything worse with a contract.
Lawmakers said the measure was necessary because existing remedies for federal civil rights violations have become difficult to use, which is legislative language for “good luck suing the armed bureaucracy after it kicks your door in.”
Republicans warned the bill may be struck down in court, arguing Colorado should wait to see what happens in other states before charging ahead with a law designed to pick a constitutional fight with the federal government.
“We have a duty to pass only bills that survive legal scrutiny,” said one opponent, standing in the same building where everyone routinely introduces litigation bait and calls it leadership. “If we are going to get sued, we prefer to do it over something more traditional, like land use, guns, or whatever the governor just announced in a vest.”
Democrats countered that the bill was carefully written to survive legal challenges “provision by provision” and “application by application,” meaning the law comes pre-sliced for the courts like a charcuterie board of defiance.
A more expansive civil rights bill, which would have allowed lawsuits against federal, state, and local officials beyond immigration enforcement, died earlier this week after district attorneys warned it could expose their offices to an unpredictable number of lawsuits.
At that point, lawmakers clarified that accountability remains a core Colorado value until it approaches someone with a county email address.
“We support meaningful remedies for civil rights violations,” said a consultant close to the matter, “but not so meaningful that they become available to everyone harmed by the government. That would be chaos, and more importantly, billable.”
The Legislature is also considering a related measure requiring the state to publish redacted copies of subpoenas from federal immigration authorities and notify people when their information is handed over, because Colorado’s current privacy policy appears to be “trust us, unless ICE asks nicely.”
The session ends next week.
Rights may be enforced while supplies last.
Source: Sara Wilson, Colorado Newsline
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