Allowing qualified non-citizens to be hired for police and fire services

Denver voters will decide whether the city should repeal its citizenship requirement for police and firefighter jobs.

Currently, the city can only hire U.S. citizens for these jobs due to city charter restrictions.

If voters approve Measure 2T, noncitizens with certain work and residency qualifications will be able to apply for positions in these departments. Applicants would still have to meet hiring standards that apply to all potential police and fire applicants, including age and education requirements, physical and mental testing and background checks.

The change would apply to people with valid U.S. work authorization, legal permanent residents and people with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status who entered the U.S. as children. It would not allow new immigrants to apply if they do not have valid documents and a work permit.

The question presented would bring Denver into compliance with federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating based on national origin and citizenship status as long as applicants have proper work authorization.

In 2016, the Denver Sheriff’s Department settled a lawsuit for $10,000 after the U.S. Department of Justice found that the department required applicants to be U.S. citizens to apply – a requirement that for this authority has now been repealed. Other neighboring cities, including Aurora, already allow qualified non-citizens to work in police and fire departments.

Here is the language you will see on your ballot:

“Should the Charter of the City and County of Denver be amended to remove the first requirement that police officers and firefighters be U.S. citizens?”

How would it work?

If passed, the ordinance would change city charter, meaning any further changes in the future would have to be put back before voters. It would come into force once the Civil Service Commission updates its rules, which would likely happen soon after. Immigrants with the appropriate permits can then apply for positions in the police and fire departments.

If the preliminary question fails, non-U.S. residents would still be prohibited from applying for police and fire jobs. Denver could be vulnerable to lawsuits because the city’s current policies requiring citizenship conflict with federal law.

Who is for it?

City Council Member Jamie Torres and Council President Amanda Sandoval supported the referral question, which passed unanimously in the council. They’re asking voters to bring the city into compliance with federal law and open employment opportunities to people who are otherwise qualified to work in the police and fire departments but are currently excluded from doing so.

Denver’s police and fire departments have also suffered from staffing shortages in recent years, struggling to fill recruiting classes while turning away interested applicants without U.S. citizenship.

“We are absolutely certain about discrimination in the workplace and I don’t want that to be in our charter or in any of our codes and for it to look like we can just ignore it until the Justice Department comes knocking on the door.” on our doorstep,” Torres said before the city council vote in July. “I think it is our responsibility to make sure we proactively remove this hurdle and this problem. And I think that’s one thing, but the other thing is that it’s the right thing to do.”

The ordinance has received letters of support from many city groups and agencies, including Fire Chief Desmond Fulton, Police Chief Ron Thomas, the Denver Latino Commission, the Denver Immigrant and Refugee Commission and the Civil Service Commission, the independent panel that oversees policing and hiring the fire department. The nonprofit Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition also wrote a letter of support.

As of September 27, no funds had been raised or spent in support of the ordinance.

Who is against it?

There is no organized resistance to the regulation. As of September 27, no funds had been collected or spent in opposition to the ordinance.

But when the City Council first proposed the charter change, Torres said she heard false information spread that the city was pushing for the change to help recently arrived immigrants, many of whom are undocumented and do not yet have work permits To enable work in police and fire departments.

Some national right-wing news outlets, including The Washington Times, have written articles about efforts in Colorado and other states suggesting that changes like these would allow cities to hire “illegal immigrants.” This is not the case; The bill requires proper residency status and a work permit.

“It’s not for undocumented residents,” Torres said in July. “I think people need to be reminded that we still have rules, laws and checks for every job, not just our security jobs.”

In February, the editorial board of the Denver Gazette published an article opposing the ballot measure, arguing that some immigrants who currently have proper work authorization and residency initially entered the country illegally and are therefore ineligible for the ballot measure to enforce the law. Instead, these residents would first have to become U.S. citizens, the article says.

“There is no doubt that some of them have what it takes to be good police officers or firefighters,” the editorial team wrote. “But especially when it comes to police work, it violates the premise of wearing a badge when the officer behind it is only in Colorado because he or she broke the law in the first place.”

Previous Denverite coverage of Ballot Measure 2T

Denver voters will decide whether qualified non-citizens can apply for police and fire jobs

Should Denver repeal its citizenship requirement for police and firefighter jobs? Voters could decide on this in the fall