INTERACTIVE: Amendment 81: Colorado's ICE Reporting Measure Explained

A proposed change to the state constitution would require local law enforcement to notify federal immigration authorities within 72 hours in certain cases — but not everyone in law enforcement thinks it's a good idea.

Colorado voters will decide whether to rewrite the state constitution to require local sheriffs and police to report certain people to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Amendment 81 sits at the intersection of immigration enforcement, community trust, and local law enforcement autonomy — and it is already dividing the people who wear badges across the state.

• 81 — Amendment on 2026 Ballot
• 72 — Hours to Notify DHS

How Well Do You Know Amendment 81?

Four questions. Find out what this measure actually does — and what it does not.

Under Amendment 81, within how many hours would local law enforcement need to notify the U.S. Department of Homeland Security?

• 24 hours — Not quite. The amendment sets the window at 72 hours — three full days — for local agencies to make the notification to DHS.
• 48 hours — Close, but the measure specifies 72 hours, giving agencies roughly three days to complete the notification to DHS.
• 72 hours — Correct. Amendment 81 would give local law enforcement 72 hours to alert the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about people whose immigration status cannot be confirmed or who are in the country illegally.
• One week — The window is much shorter — 72 hours. Speed of notification is central to how the amendment is written.

Under current Colorado law, what can local police NOT do regarding ICE detainers?

• Contact ICE at any time — Current law limits what information local agencies can share, but it does not entirely bar contact. What it does bar is holding someone solely on an ICE detainer.
• Hold someone solely on an ICE detainer — Correct. Current state law bars local law enforcement from holding someone solely on an ICE detainer — Amendment 81 would change the state constitution to expand those obligations.
• Verify someone's citizenship — Verifying citizenship is not currently what local deputies do as standard practice — but current law does not explicitly bar it. What is currently barred is holding someone solely on an ICE detainer.
• Arrest someone for a violent crime — Local law enforcement arrests people for violent crimes as normal practice. The restriction under current law is specifically about holding people on ICE detainers.

Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson raised a specific concern about crime victims under Amendment 81. What was it?

• Victims could be required to testify before deportation hearings — Johnson did not raise this concern. His worry was specifically about what happens to a victim's case if the person charged is deported before trial.
• A suspect deported before trial could deny victims the outcome they deserve — Correct. Johnson said he worries that if someone charged with a violent crime is deported before their case goes to trial, the victim may never get the outcome they want — and the deported person could return without consequence.
• Victims would have to report their own immigration status — Johnson did not raise this concern. His focus was on the accused — specifically that a suspect deported before trial could deny crime victims a just outcome.
• Victims in immigrant communities would be discouraged from calling 911 — Johnson did express concern about community trust — that people may fear coming forward. But his most specific concern about crime victims was that a suspect deported before trial could deny them justice. Both issues were raised, but the trial outcome concern was the most specific.

Which organization was responsible for getting Amendment 81 onto the Colorado ballot?

• Independence Institute — The Independence Institute's Jon Caldara is a prominent supporter of the measure, but the group that put in the petition work to get it on the ballot was Advance Colorado.
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security — DHS is the federal agency that would receive notifications under the amendment — it did not place the measure on the ballot. That was the work of Advance Colorado, a Colorado-based conservative group.
• Advance Colorado — Correct. Advance Colorado, a conservative group, is responsible for gathering the signatures and getting Amendment 81 placed on Colorado's midterm ballot. The group declined Denver7's multiple interview requests.
• Boulder County Sheriff's Office — Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson is one of the most outspoken critics of the amendment — not a supporter. The group that put Amendment 81 on the ballot was Advance Colorado.

Amendment 81 would change Colorado's state constitution — not just state law — which means undoing it would require another statewide vote. That is a high bar, and it is why both supporters and opponents are treating this ballot measure as a defining moment for how Colorado handles the relationship between local policing and federal immigration enforcement.

Under the amendment, local law enforcement would need to make an active effort to verify the citizenship status of people they charge. Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson, one of the measure's most prominent critics, says his deputies are simply not trained for that role. He argues citizenship verification is and has always been a federal responsibility — and that forcing county deputies into that role would require a fundamental reshaping of how arrests are made.

• 72 — Hours — Window to notify DHS under Amendment 81
• 81 — Amendment Number — 2026 Colorado midterm ballot
• 2 — Conditions to Notify — Charged with violent crime OR previously convicted of felony

Amendment 81: Two Sides of the Debate

Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute and a supporter of Amendment 81, frames the measure as straightforward interagency cooperation. He argues that when someone is arrested for a violent crime and is in the country illegally, notifying federal authorities is a basic public safety step — not a political statement.

Caldara also acknowledged the political reality surrounding the vote. He suggested that if a different president were in office, a measure like Amendment 81 would face far less resistance — and that many voters may treat it as a referendum on federal immigration policy rather than a question about Colorado law. Advance Colorado, the conservative group that drove the ballot petition, did not respond to multiple interview requests from Denver7.

What Happens Under Amendment 81 — Step by Step

1. Someone is charged with a qualifying offense — The requirement is triggered when a person is charged with a violent crime, or if someone already has a felony conviction on their record.
2. Officers attempt to verify citizenship status — Local law enforcement must make an effort to verify whether the person charged is a U.S. citizen or is in the country legally — a function deputies are not currently trained for, according to Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson.
3. Status cannot be confirmed — or is flagged — If citizenship status cannot be determined, or if officers confirm the person is in the country illegally, the reporting obligation is activated.
4. DHS notified within 72 hours — Local law enforcement must notify the U.S. Department of Homeland Security within 72 hours — before any conviction, while the case is still pending.

Know Before You Vote

• Denver7 Colorado Voter Guide: Get full coverage of Amendment 81 and every other measure on Colorado's 2026 midterm ballot in Denver7's voter guide.

Amendment 81 ultimately asks Colorado voters to decide how they want local policing to interact with federal immigration enforcement — and whether changing the state constitution is the right tool for that. Sheriff Johnson's concern that the measure would erode trust with immigrant communities and potentially let violent offenders avoid justice through early deportation represents one vision of what happens if it passes. Caldara's argument that it simply brings local and federal law enforcement into alignment represents another.

What both sides agree on, at least implicitly: how Coloradans feel about this amendment may be inseparable from how they feel about federal immigration policy right now. That makes it one of the most politically charged questions on Colorado's 2026 ballot.

Sources & References

• Primary source: Denver7 — Maggie Bryan
• Denver7 Colorado Voter Guide — Full coverage of Amendment 81 and 2026 Colorado midterm ballot measures