A bill from state Rep. Joe Salazar that would bar Colorado from participating in any federal efforts to create ethnically or religiously based registries or internment camps -- and that would bar Colorado from providing information about immigration status to the federal government -- passed the House Thursday morning on a party line vote.
It now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate where it faces uncertain prospects.
Salazar removed the name of Colorado's Republican governor who opposed Japanese internment from the bill so that it is now the Colorado Freedom Defense Act rather than the Ralph Carr Freedom Defense Act.
The Colorado Statesman reported last week on Salazar's decision to remove Carr's name after beating back Republican efforts to do just that on second reading of the bill. Salazar said he had been in contact with one family member who was supportive, but other family members were uncomfortable with the way Carr's name was being politicized.
Republicans in the House also objected to the bill's inclusion of undocumented immigrants in the protected categories, along with race, ethnicity and religion.
The bill does not prevent law enforcement from sharing information in ways that have been found to be constitutional.
