Statement on El Paso County Suing State of Colorado to Repeal Immigrant Protections
On Tuesday, April 9th, the Board of El Paso County Commissioners unanimously voted to join Douglas County as co-plaintiffs in their lawsuit against the State of Colorado to repeal laws preventing state and local law enforcement from cooperating in federal immigration policing. This lawsuit is intended to strip immigrants of important protections that allow them to live lives of safety and dignity.
The Colorado Springs Democratic Socialists of America strongly condemns this effort by the county to waste public resources in their ongoing attempts to scapegoat immigrants and create a local panic over non-existent crime. Such political posturing creates a dangerous local climate for immigrants as well as asylum seekers and distracts the public from the true sources of our economic distress: exploitative labor practices, unlivable wages, unaffordable housing and healthcare, and artificial inflation driven by corporate greed and political corruption.
The El Paso County Board of Commissioners are also working closely with local law enforcement to further expand the police state through these efforts. If successful, this lawsuit will continue to siphon important public resources away from services and supports that enhance the quality of life for residents and into oppressive systems that punish poverty and breed injustice and inequality. As an abolitionist organization, DSA is committed to fighting all efforts to expand or reinforce the criminal injustice system and to uplifting life affirming institutions that center equity, human rights, and the dignity and worth of each person, regardless of where they come from.
Colorado Springs DSA reaffirms our commitment to fighting state oppression in all its forms, and we stand in solidarity with immigrants and asylum seekers who come to this country fleeing the poverty and violence created by the United States’ history of economic, political, and military interference around the world. We believe that all people deserve lives of freedom, means, and leisure, and we continue to work towards a global movement built upon the principles of international working class solidarity. We welcome our migrant siblings and know that, when we work together, a better world is possible.
