U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-CO) decided not to join Colorado’s other three congressional Republicans in signing a letter asking Gov. Jared Polis to repeal state laws that protect immigrants.
He is “focusing on pursuing pressure in other ways,” a spokesman from Hurd’s office said in a statement to the Colorado Times Recorder.
The letter, signed by Reps. Gabe Evans (R-CO), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and Jeff Crank (R-CO), came after Polis’ State of the State address in which he agreed with components of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
“In your speech, you expressed a willingness to partner with federal immigration authorities … ” stated the letter. “These [Colorado] laws hamper and often outright prevent public safety investigations from being opened, which degrades the ability of law enforcement to investigate cases where immigration status might be a factor,”
The spokesperson said Hurd was invited to sign the letter, but wanted to take a different approach. This different approach includes meeting with stakeholders.
One state law prohibits law enforcement officials from jailing or detaining someone based on their immigration status — and from providing that status to federal agencies like ICE. Another Colorado law passed last year aims to stop local entities from detaining immigrants for ICE.
The chair of the Mesa County Democrats, Cindy Orr, said the letter was “performative” and meant to attract attention. Since Democrats hold an almost supermajority in the state Legislature and many were disappointed with Polis’ comments about working with Trump, repealing the laws is unlikely.
However, Orr said Hurd stands out from other Colorado Republican members of the U.S. Congress because he sits more in the “middle of the road” on the issue politically.
“I think the far right folks will be disappointed,” Orr said. “I would like to think that Mesa County and Colorado in general has a better approach to immigration than national laws or national folks do. We value our immigrants here and we try to lift them up.”
The spokesperson said Hurd still believes local law enforcement in Colorado should cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as be given additional funding to ensure cooperation. He also said Hurd is focused on “detaining and deporting anyone who has committed a crime and securing the border” and supports opening detention centers in Colorado.
Looking at the first few weeks of the new U.S. Congress, the four Colorado Republicans in the U.S. House worked together on penning statements from opposing the reintroduction of gray wolves in Colorado to opposing the potential adaptation of new Colorado GOP bylaws and Dave Williams’ party leadership.
The four members sit on a variety of Republican caucuses, which can help define differences in their political identities. For example, Evans sits on the Problem Solvers Caucus and dodged questions about Trump’s pardons for the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters, and Hurd opposed pardoning those convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol. On the other hand, Boebert offered the rioting protesters tours of the U.S. Capitol.
Colorado state Sen. Janice Rich (R-Grand Junction) said it was up to Polis and the state Democrats to follow through with a crackdown on immigration. She said if Polis chooses not to take action, it is indicative of where he stands.
“He might be talking out of both sides of his mouth because he’s the one that signed these bills,” Rich said.
CORRECTION: This article initially stated, incorrectly, that Gabe Evans — in a vote with the Problem Solvers Caucus — opposed Trump’s pardons of the Jan. 6 rioters. He dodged questions about whether he supports the pardons.
