Colorado Amendment 81: How Immigration Reporting Could Change for Criminal Charges

Colorado voters will decide 14 statewide ballot measures on November 3, 2026, and three of them would directly change how criminal cases are handled in this state. Amendment 81 is the one with the most direct effect on how an arrest or criminal charge interacts with a person’s immigration status — and it would do that by amending the Colorado Constitution, not just a statute.

What Colorado Law Says Today

Colorado currently limits how far local law enforcement can go in assisting federal civil immigration enforcement. Under C.R.S. § 24-76.6-102(2), Colorado law enforcement officers cannot arrest or detain a person based solely on a civil immigration detainer request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — a civil detainer is not treated as a valid warrant under Colorado law.

A separate law, SB21-131, bars most state employees, along with probation and pretrial services officers, from inquiring into a person’s immigration status or sharing their personal identifying information with federal immigration authorities except where required by law or a court order. Officers can still help execute a warrant signed by a federal judge, and can transfer someone from jail into ICE custody under a valid court order — but today, a criminal charge by itself does not trigger an automatic notification to federal immigration authorities based on immigration status alone.

What Amendment 81 Would Require

If approved, Amendment 81 would add a new requirement to the Colorado Constitution: police officers, sheriffs, deputies, and prosecutors would have to notify the U.S. Department of Homeland Security within 72 hours whenever a person whose lawful immigration status cannot be confirmed is formally charged with:

• An alleged violent crime (the kind of offense cited in reporting includes things like murder, first-degree assault, kidnapping, and aggravated robbery); or
• Any crime at all, including a misdemeanor, if that person has a prior felony conviction on their record.

Because this would be written into the state Constitution, it would override the current statutory limits described above to the extent they conflict. Amendment 81 needs 55% voter approval to pass, the same supermajority threshold required of every citizen-initiated constitutional amendment in Colorado since 2016.

What Supporters and Opponents Are Saying

Supporters argue the measure closes a gap between local and federal law enforcement, creates one consistent statewide rule, and improves public safety. Opponents — including several Colorado district attorneys and immigrant-advocacy organizations — argue it could increase racial profiling, discourage immigrant crime victims and witnesses from cooperating with police, and sweep in lawful residents or citizens whose status simply can’t be confirmed at the moment of charging.

One detail worth flagging: the public summaries of Amendment 81 don’t spell out exactly how an agency is supposed to verify “unconfirmed” immigration status within a 72-hour window. That mechanical question is one of the open issues both sides have raised.

Why This Matters If You’re Facing Charges

For anyone charged with a qualifying offense after this measure takes effect, a prior felony conviction would carry a new, separate consequence beyond sentencing — a federal notification tied to the new charge itself, regardless of how that new charge is ultimately resolved. That makes it even more important to understand your full record and your options before you talk to police or enter a plea.