Next Tuesday, Nov. 5, is Election Day. As Denver voters cast their ballots, they’ll be deciding the fate of ballot measure 2T, which would remove citizenship requirements for police and fire jobs in the city charter.
The Denver City Council voted unanimously to put the measure, sponsored by Council President Amanda Sandoval and Councilor Jamie Torres, on the ballot. The city is currently restricted to hiring U.S. citizens, but if ballot measure 2T passes, qualified non-citizens with certain work and residency qualifications could apply for jobs in the police and fire departments.
Applicants without U.S. citizenship would need to have valid U.S. work authorization, legal permanent residency or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. They would still be subject to the same requirements as other applicants, such as age and education requirements, physical and mental tests and background checks.
The city charter citizenship restrictions technically conflict with federal anti-discrimination laws in the Immigration and Nationality Act that prevent employers from discriminating against applicants with proper work authorization on the basis of national origin and citizenship. If the ballot measure fails, it could leave Denver vulnerable to lawsuits challenging the requirements.
In 2016, the Denver Sheriff’s Department settled a lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice over citizenship restrictions for the department that also violated federal law. The city paid $10,000 in civil penalties and lifted the restrictions for the Sheriff’s Department and several other city agencies.
In 2023, a Colorado bill allowing DACA recipients to carry firearms was approved, lifting one of the last restrictions for non-citizens wanting to become police officers. Qualified non-citizens can serve in police and fire departments in cities and states across the country, including Aurora.
Amendments to the city charter have to be made by voters, so citizenship restrictions for Denver’s police and fire departments can only be lifted by proposals like ballot measure 2T. Supporters see the measure as a no-brainer.
“We absolutely are standing right in the face of employment discrimination, and I don’t want to see that in our charter, in any of our code, and for us to just look like we can ignore it until the Department of Justice comes knocking at our door,” Torres said. “I think it’s responsible for us to make sure that we lift that barrier and that issue proactively. And that I think it’s one thing, but the other is it’s the right thing to do.”
Nationwide, there has been a dire shortage of qualified fire and police department staff. Those dwindling numbers are reflected in Colorado.
A 2023 report from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control found that the state needs 1,085 career firefighters, 1,300 volunteer firefighters and around $41 million in funds to be adequately staffed. Similarly, the Denver Police Department has been struggling to recruit and retain staff, operating for years at well below its approved staff budget.
But because of the citizenship requirements, Denver fire and police departments are forced to actively turn away interested applicants otherwise qualified to work.
Fire Chief Desmond Fulton, Police Chief Ron Thomas and the Denver’s Civil Service Commission, which oversees fire and police recruiting and various nonprofits working with immigrants, wrote letters in support of the measure to the City Council.
“I look forward to welcoming the experiences and unique talents of all of those who call Denver home into our department; these individuals will truly make us a better agency,” Thomas wrote.
Still, some remain opposed to the charter change. Critics have suggested that proposals like Ballot Measure 2T would allow emergency service departments to hire “illegal immigrants” in Colorado and other states with similar measures.
The measure comes on the heels of a surge of 40,000 immigrants coming to the city in the last year, and while about half of them have since left, that’s more than any city the size of Denver in America. Both Sandoval and Torres noted that ballot measure 2R would only allow the limited few with legal residency or work authorization to serve.
“I think people needed to be reminded that we still have rules and laws and vetting in place for any job, not just our safety jobs,” Torres said.
“This was not for them. It can be for them, but they have to go through the same process as everyone else,” Sandoval added.
Ballot measure 2T is now in the hands of the voters, who also will decide 11 other City of Denver ballot measures.
