February 26, 2020 12:30 PM UTC

Colorado GOP Chairman Sponsors Bill To Punish Colorado

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• by: Colorado Pols

As originally reported earlier this month by Fox News, and we wanted to be sure to mention this before it slips down the memory hole:

Republicans in the House and the Senate are introducing legislation that would block federal funds from states that allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses — the latest move in an escalating fight over “sanctuary” laws.

The Stop Greenlighting Driver Licenses for Illegal Immigrants Act would block funds to sanctuary states — which limit local cooperation with federal immigration authorities — and those that give licenses to illegal immigrants. Specifically, it would halt Justice Department (DOJ) grants, in particular those awarded under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, which is a top source of federal criminal justice funding for states.

The legislation is being introduced in the Senate by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. It is being co-sponsored by Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.; Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga.; Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Mike Rounds, R-S.D. Meanwhile, in the House, Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., is introducing companion legislation. [Pols emphasis] That bill is co-sponsored by 21 other members.

“Tennesseans know all too well what can happen when illegal immigrants are granted driver licenses,” Blackburn said in a statement…

Here in Colorado, as readers should know, we’ve had a law on the books since 2013 (the Colorado Road and Community Safety Act) that allows undocumented immigrants to who meet specific requirements, including an affidavit promising to apply for legal status if they haven’t already, to obtain a state-issued driver license. The licenses issued to noncitizens are clearly marked to not provide evidence of citizenship. “What can happen” when undocumented immigrants are allowed to obtain driver licenses is pretty simple: they get driver’s licenses. That means they’ve passed driver safety tests, and are able to do basic things expected of everyone on the roads in Colorado like purchase auto insurance.

For Colorado’s Rep. Ken Buck, who is leading the unlikely House effort to pass this legislation despite the fact that it would jeopardize federal funding for his own state, this gratuitous attack on a law put in place to protect all Colorado residents from untrained, uninsured motorists is both insult and injury. Since Rep. Buck is incapable of snapping his fingers and making the undocumented population in Colorado disappear, what he’s essentially saying with this bill is that it’s better to have uninsured, untested motorists on Colorado roads. How is that a responsible position for any public official to take?

Especially with one of our own elected lawmakers leading the charge, this attack on Colorado–and every other state trying to develop reasonable policies to manage public safety and immigration issues–is the public policy equivalent of Buck cutting off Colorado’s nose to spite our face.