In Colorado, citizens may propose laws which are added to the state ballot if they accumulate the required number of signatures. These citizen-proposals are called initiatives.
Initiative #95
On June 6, 2025, Initiative #95 proposed a change to the state constitution. Legislative staff dubbed it “Law Enforcement Reporting Requirements to Federal Authorities.” The initiative lays out requirements for law enforcement to notify the federal government within 72 hours after charging an individual who is not lawfully in the United States with a crime.
There are a few important pieces of language notice:
- The dubbed title of the initiative hides the official language of the initiative. The document clearly states that the Federal Authorities in context is the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which controls ICE.
- The initiative requires Law enforcement to report to DHS after “charging” an individual, not after conviction. This is a hindrance to due process, and paves a clear path to discriminatory and profiled enforcement.
Michael Fields, leader of the conservative political nonprofit “Advance Colorado” represented alongside by a republican lawyer, Suzanne Taheri, a former deputy secretary of state for Colorado proposed Initiative #95.
On January 23, the initiative reached the required number of votes with a total of 142,299 valid signatures meeting the required percentage of registered voters from each of the 35 existing senate districts in Colorado. As a result, the initiative is officially on the November 2026 Colorado ballot.
LGBTQ+ Advocates Push for a No Vote
Rocky Mountain Equality added Initiative #95 to its Hands Off Colorado campaign. The initiative will need a 55% majority to change the state constitution, and the LGBTQ+ organization urges Colorado voters to vote NO.
The organization’s Executive Director, Bruce Parker, says the initiative “is not about public safety, it’s about fear and targeting.” Rocky Mountain Equality makes it clear that with no evidence to back-up the efficacy of ICE in making communities safer. Rather, the only result they foresee is discrimination. Measures like these provide Law Enforcement with the constitutional power to target immigrants without checks.
The Hands Off Colorado campaign also advocates for voting NO on initiatives that would ban gender-affirming care for trans youth and keep trans kids out of school sports.
In moments of political and legislative injustice, there is power in numbers. The LGBTQ+ community is well aware of this: If the government is targeting immigrants, it is targeting our community as well.
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
