NEWS RELEASE
COLORADO DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
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DENVER - Colorado inched one step closer to closing a gap in the state’s definition of criminal extortion Wednesday as the General Assembly House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed HB21-1057.
Under current law, it is a crime to attempt to gain financially by threatening to report someone’s immigration status to law enforcement. It is not illegal, however, to make that threat if you are trying to cover up a crime. This form of extortion is commonly used by perpetrators of domestic violence, child abuse, sex trafficking, forced labor and wage theft to prevent victims from reporting the crime or seeking help.
“A victim’s immigration status shouldn’t be used against them in an effort to cover up criminal activity,” said Colorado District Attorneys’ Council Executive Director Tom Raynes. “That is why all 22 DAs across Colorado were unanimously in support of this bipartisan effort.”
HB21-1057 would expand the state’s criminal extortion definition to include threats that are intended to coerce someone into doing something against their will or refraining from performing a legal act – such as reporting a crime to law enforcement. Classified as an F4 felony offense, the penalty carries the possibility of two to six years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.
“The goal of this legislation is to capture those gaps and ensure that the original intent of the statute – which is to protect particularly vulnerable individuals from the crime of extortion – is captured,” said Rep. Kerry Tipper, D-Lakewood, who sponsored the bill in the House with Rep. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon.
“A victim is a victim and it’s good for public safety – no matter what somebody’s immigration status is – if victims can be protected by our laws,” said Roberts who also serves as a Deputy District Attorney in Colorado’s 5th Judicial District (Clear Creek, Eagle, Lake, Summit).
The bill only criminalizes the threat of reporting someone to immigration authorities and doesn’t impact the actual act of reporting.
“This bill is not about politics or political views,” said Michael Dougherty, the 20th Judicial District Attorney (Boulder) who gave testimony on real-life cases involving wage theft, domestic violence and sexual abuse. “It is about making an improvement to the law that will help victims and help community safety. People have different views on immigration, but I don’t know a single person who believes that a woman’s immigration status should be used to subject her to rape or domestic violence.”
It is the hope of Colorado’s district attorneys that the passage of HB21-1057 will make immigrant victims in the state – here legally or illegally – feel more comfortable in reporting crimes to law enforcement and assured that prosecutors will have the tools to hold their perpetrator criminally accountable.
About CDAC
The Colorado District Attorneys’ Council (CDAC) is a statewide organization representing the district attorneys for all 22 of Colorado’s judicial districts. CDAC promotes safe and healthy communities for all in Colorado through training of personnel, legislative drafting and liaison, legal research, management assistance, case tracking and dissemination of data to other criminal justice agencies. Learn more at coloradoprosecutors.org.
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