Immigration Enforcement Bill Dies in Colorado

DENVER - APRIL 15: A protester demands immigration reform while demonstrating across the street from a "Tax Day Tea Party" event at the state capitol building on April 15, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. Tea Party groups held anti-government protests nationwide on the day when Americans must file their annual income tax returns. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) (2010 Getty Images)

Colorado lawmaker Republican Rep. Randy Baumgardner, main sponsor of the an Arizona-style bill on illegal immigration, will back off the measure because of the cost to taxpayers if it is challenged in court he said on Wednesday.

Baumgardner plans to ask fellow lawmakers to effectively kill the bill.

"We're probably going to offer for it to go away today. For the same reason that I've told everybody else the undue cost to the taxpayers, the litigation that could possibly be brought forward," he said. The bill is scheduled for a hearing Monday.

House Bill 1107 would have allowed police to arrest illegal immigrants without warrant if law enforcement had probable cause to believe they were in the country illegally. It also would have required immigrants to always carry their documents and made it illegal for undocumented immigrants to work in Colorado.

The Pueblo Chieftain first reported Baumgardner's decision.

Other lawmakers, however, are still planning to continue the fight.

One of the co-sponsors of Baumgardner's bill, Republican Rep. David Balmer, said his colleague's plans won't deter him from pressing on with legislation targeting illegal immigration.

A measure similar to Baumgardner's is still alive in the Senate.

A federal judge blocked the most controversial parts of Arizona's immigration law and the case is pending in court. The blocked provisions would require immigrants to get or carry immigration registration papers and direct police officers who are enforcing other laws to question the immigration status of people suspected of being in the country illegally.

Baumgardner said some aspects of his bill "could be construed as unconstitutional," leading to legal challenges.

"So we felt like at this time it would be a prudent thing for the taxpayers of the state Colorado for this bill to just kind of go away," he said.

The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition opposes the legislation.

"We need to focus on bills that are going to improve our economy, not create an environment of fear in immigrant communities," said CIRC spokesman Alan Kaplan.

Baumgardner said he doesn't know whether he'll bring the proposal back another year.

In addition to Baumgardner's proposal in the House, Senate Republicans have pending legislation that also would give law enforcement the power to arrest someone if an officer has probable cause that the person is in the country illegally. Sen. Kent Lambert, the sponsor of Senate Bill 54, said he intends to proceed with his proposal and that he has no qualms about whether the measure is constitutional.

Democrats who control the Senate warn the immigration crackdown will encounter a difficult path.

Rep. Balmer said he intends to support Lambert's bill if it reaches the House. Balmer said if it doesn't, he plans to include portions of it in a House bill he's sponsoring that would target people who smuggle immigrants into the country illegally.

"It's my goal to see us continue to pursue some components of the Arizona statute here in the Colorado House," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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