Immigration marathon in store for lawmakers

Panel on Tuesday will hear up to 12 bills on subject

Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 18, 2006 at midnight

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State lawmakers on Tuesday will consider a massive package of illegal immigration bills, the first big push in the legislature this year to crack down on people in the country illegally and the businesses that hire them.

The House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee will hold a marathon hearing Tuesday on 10 Republican bills and perhaps one or two Democratic bills, all of which relate to illegal immigration.

While most Colorado lawmakers agree that illegal immigration is a federal problem, many have long been frustrated by Washington's perceived inaction. In recent years, a faction of Republican lawmakers led by Rep. David Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, has introduced bills aimed at illegal immigrants.

Those bills largely have been killed along party lines, folding to complaints that the proposals were too draconian or impractical.

But that could change.

House Speaker Andrew Romanoff has publicly vowed to push for a bipartisan effort on illegal immigration. And even Schultheis has expressed cautious optimism about the outcome of the hearing.

"Hopefully there will be a lot of civility in this and respect for each side's argument," Schultheis said. "I believe that we will pass some legislation on this."

The issue is also being pushed on another front. An anti-illegal immigration group is proposing a state ballot measure in November that would prevent illegal immigrants from receiving services not required by the federal government, such as K-12 education and emergency medical care.

In the legislature, the Republican bills largely focus on enforcing laws that would help authorities nab illegal immigrants, prevent them from using phony documents or getting work, and punish employers that knowingly hire them.

Democrats, who control the legislature, want to take a less aggressive approach. Many agree on the need to crack down on employers of illegal immigrants. But they are concerned that measures to discourage illegal immigration would also hurt immigrants who are here legally.

Romanoff is drafting a bill, which might be introduced Monday, that would make sure state civil rights laws would protect legal immigrants from harassment.

Rep. Gwyn Green, D-Golden, is drafting a bill that would stiffen penalties for human trafficking. That bill might not be introduced in time to be considered in the Tuesday hearing.

A third Democratic bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Cerbo, D-Denver, and Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon, would push the state Department of Labor and Employment to enforce wage laws and punish employers who cheat illegal immigrant laborers. That bill has been assigned to a different committee.

Bunching related legislation into one committee hearing is not uncommon, but the shear number of bills makes the Tuesday hearing unusual, according to political experts.

John Straayer, a political science professor at Colorado State University, calls it an efficient move, adding, "It's also a politically smart move on the part of the Democrats, because it concentrates the focus on an issue and doesn't let it drag on and on."

Rep. Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville, chairman of the State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, said he runs a great risk by putting all the immigration bills together. But he said during a meeting with bill sponsors Friday that he wants to make sure everyone who wants to testify gets their say, and that all the bills get a fair shake.

Schultheis said he expects dozens, if not more than 100 people, to want to testify at the hearing.

"There's going to be people testifying on both sides that are going to be extremely passionate," Schultheis said.

He said the Republican bills, three of which he has sponsored, are designed to make "Colorado unfriendly to people living here illegally . . . which means that they will either A, return to Mexico, or more probably they will move to states . . . where it's comparatively less uncomfortable to live."

Mike McGarry, acting director of the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform, said he expects the hearing to be contentious.

"There's a lot at stake here," he said, adding that he thinks the hearing will "flush out" lawmakers' positions on this issue.

Manolo Gonzalez-Estay, campaign manager for Keep Colorado Safe, a group formed to oppose the proposed ballot initiative, said he thinks it's important that all the immigration-related bills are being heard together.

"We're able to relate good solutions and bad solutions all together, and not let this discussion of immigration halt the movement of our legislature working on the real issues in Colorado, which are the economy, health care and education," Gonzalez-Estay said.

Romanoff said he hopes the hearing will produce "thoughtful solutions and some honest debate."

"That's all I can demand of my colleagues," he said. "That's what our constituents expect."

kimm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2361

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