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Colorado lawmakers urge ICE to stop wearing masks

ARRESTS IN 2025 | Two-thirds of the 3,500 Coloradans arrested by ICE had no criminal record. (Photo/Public News Service)

CALL TO HALT RAIDS NEAR SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS AND CHURCHES

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

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Colorado lawmakers passed a joint resolution reaffirming the constitutional rights of state residents after immigration enforcement efforts by the Trump administration resulted in 38 deaths, including U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. State Rep. Naquetta Ricks, D-Aurora, said people exercising their First Amendment rights should never have to fear for their safety or their lives.

“What the resolution did was affirm the fundamental rights of the public to speak out and peacefully protest against immoral and unlawful actions by federal agents,” she said. The resolution calls on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to stop wearing masks and to present official credentials so residents can distinguish between legitimate officers and impostors. It also urges ICE to halt raids near courthouses, schools, health clinics and places of worship.

Ricks said ICE agents have repeatedly used brutal force against peacefully assembled protesters, spraying toxic chemicals into people’s faces, and are detaining anyone with brown skin or a foreign accent. She added that when one Coloradan is not safe, no one is. “Americans have died, they’ve gone after the press, and the question is: who’s next?” she said. “We need to continue exercising our right to protest and to speak up about what is right and what is wrong.”

Calls for immigration reform

According to Ricks, President Trump campaigned on the promise of mass deportations and Colorado Republican members of Congress have defended that strategy. “All lawmakers are calling for comprehensive federal immigration reform. Each year, immigrants contribute $2 billion in state and local taxes, and Ricks described them as essential to Colorado’s communities and economy. They work in health care, education and public service, and operate small businesses,” she explained.

The congresswoman concluded, “We are seeking workable immigration reform that creates timely pathways to citizenship for long-term residents, for the dreamers who live among us and for mixed-status families.”