Colorado's Gubernatorial Candidates Discuss Immigration
DENVER (CBS4)- Colorado's gubernatorial candidates disagree over immigration issues and how best to tackle them in the state.
When asked if he supports making Colorado a sanctuary state, Democratic candidate Jared Polis answered, "No.'
When pressed about illegal immigrants, Polis responded that the issue needed to be addressed at a federal level.
"As governor we want to be sure that we can do the best we can with what we have so we want to make sure that we can protect our communities, to empower local law enforcement to use their limited resources to keep our communities safe. It's important that we allow access to education for the next generation of DREAMERS or aspiring Americans that will hopefully someday be American citizens when they work it out at the federal level," said Polis.
When asked if his administration would check a person's immigration status before providing services, Republican candidate Walker Stapleton responded, "No, I would not. I have narrowly defined sanctuary cities to be individuals who have entered this country illegally and committed a felony-type offense. Those are the people that I've defined, that we should not be giving safe harbor to. Those are the people that law enforcement is asking that Colorado have a uniform policy, so that local municipalities can use ICE detainers properly so the sheriffs, I have more than a dozen major county sheriffs who have endorsed me, don't have to be in legal limbo or legal jeopardy for simply keeping somebody who has committed a felony incarcerated and keeping their community safe. I, too, support the DREAMERS, but our immigration problems are a federal problem and Congressman Polis has been in Congress for 10 years, the federal government hasn't fixed our immigration problems and they need to. And Colorado has had to deal with it on a state level the very broken immigration system."