The general assembly hereby finds and declares that the failure to enforce immigration laws at the federal level places an undue burden on state government resources and that there is a limitation on what can be done at the state level to enforce the federal laws and to implement laws at the state level. The general assembly further finds that the state of Colorado spends a disproportionate share of its limited tax revenue on public services and benefits such as health care, law enforcement, criminal defense and incarceration, and education that are provided to illegal aliens as a result of the federal government's failure to enforce immigration laws. Therefore, the Colorado state attorney general shall initiate or join other states in a lawsuit against the United States attorney general to demand the enforcement of all existing federal immigration laws by the federal government.
Source: L. Referred 2006: Entire article added, L. 2006, 1st Ex. Sess., p. 4, § 1, effective December 31.
ANNOTATION
Complaint brought by the state of Colorado pursuant to this section dismissed because it raised nonjusticiable issues under the political question doctrine, the state lacked standing to bring the claims, and the state failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted because the claims are not yet ripe. People ex rel. Suthers v. Gonzales, 558 F. Supp. 2d 1158 (D. Colo. 2007).