John Hickenlooper on Immigration Democratic Presidential Challenger (withdrew, Aug. 2019); CO Governor

Border wall "ineffective" and a waste of billions

John Hickenlooper: Yes. Wants to see "a permanent pathway to citizenship for our DREAMers" while "ensuring border security and protecting American workers." Calls expanded border wall "ineffective" and a waste of billions.

Corey Gardner: Co-sponsored legislation for a 12-year pathway to citizenship combined with increased border wall funding.

Federal agents taking children from parents is kidnapping

HICKENLOOPER: If you'd ever told me any time in my life that this country would sanction federal agents to take children from the arms of their parents, put them in cages, actually put them up for adoption--in Colorado, we call that kidnapping--I would have told you it was unbelievable. And the first thing we have to do is recognize the humanitarian crisis on the border for what it is. We make sure that there are the sufficient facilities in place so that women and children are not separated from their families, that children are with their families. We have to make sure that ICE is completely reformed and they begin looking at their job in a humanitarian way, where they're addressing the whole needs of the people that they are engaged with, and we have to make sure ultimately that we provide not just shelter, but food, clothing, and access to medical care.

Need a comprehensive reevaluation of our immigration laws

Crazy to drive out 11 million illegal immigrants

On immigration, Hickenlooper said both sides need to sit down and that hardliners must accept some realities. "To think we're ever in this country, that was founded and defined by immigrants, to expel 10 million to 11 million people is crazy," Hickenlooper said.

Family separation policy is cruel and un-American

• Immigration and border security: Opposes family separation policy.
• Hickenlooper signed an executive order as governor prohibiting the use of Colorado state resources to help implement the Trump administration's family separation policy at the southern border, calling the policy "cruel and un-American."
• Hickenlooper also did not send any National Guard troops to the southern border when Trump called on governors to do so in 2018.

In-state tuition & driver's license for undocumented people

Stringent verification process for Syrian refugees

Not soft on immigration, but against Arizona immigration law

Protect DREAMers instead of deporting them.

Nearly 800,000 young people eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA)--known as `Dreamers`--played no role in the decision to come here and they have known no other home but the United States.

Already, more than 12,000 Dreamers have lost their protective status and are susceptible to deportation. This is not a theoretical peril, but in fact an immediate and urgent one, because more than 100 young people in our cities and towns are losing their protective status every day. Those numbers will accelerate dramatically without a legislative fix.

We stand with these young American immigrants not only because it is good for our communities and a strong American 21st century economy, but also because it is the right thing for our nation to do. DACA recipients have subjected themselves to extensive background and security checks in order to work and attend college. They are studying at our universities. They are working to support themselves and their families, paying taxes and contributing to their communities in a myriad of ways. In the absence of congressional action providing for a permanent resolution, the termination of DACA puts these young people and their families in peril, and will destabilize our schools, workplaces and communities.

We recognize the complexities and challenges created by this issue, but swift, successful action is needed, action that can build momentum to reassure policymakers that progress on other immigration challenges is possible as well. As a bipartisan coalition of governors, we stand ready to help.

Anti-border security, according to CC survey.

The Christian Coalition inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'Increase Border Security Including Additional Infrastructures ?' Self-description by Christian Coalition of America: "These guides help give voters a clear understanding of where candidates stand on important pro-family issues" for all Senate and Presidential candidates.

Sponsored bill to disallow religion-based immigration ban.

The National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act (NO BAN Act) imposes limitations on the President`s authority to suspend or restrict aliens from entering the US. It also prohibits religious discrimination in various immigration-related decisions, such as issuing a visa. The President may temporarily restrict the entry of any class of aliens after determining that the restriction would address specific and credible facts that threaten U.S. interests such as security or public safety.

GovTrack.us analysis (4/21/21): President Donald Trump instituted a travel ban on eight countries: Chad, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. The Supreme Court upheld the travel ban 5-4 in the 2018 decision Trump v. Hawaii. Trump`s travel ban was popularly nicknamed `the Muslim ban` by its Democratic critics since most of the countries it applied to were majority Muslim, and because Trump as a 2016 candidate had indeed proposed a Muslim ban. Regardless, President Joe Biden rescinded the policy on his first day in office. Currently, federal law bans any person from being discriminated against when entering the U.S. on the basis of five characteristics: race, sex, nationality, place of birth, or place of residence. The NO BAN Act would add another category: religion.

Rep. Tom McClintock in OPPOSITION: President Trump invoked this authority against countries that were hotbeds of international terrorism and that were not cooperating with the US in providing basic information about travelers coming from these countries. The left called it a `Muslim ban.` What nonsense. Without this authority, the president would have been powerless to take simple, prudent precautions against terrorists and criminals from entering the US.

Legislative Outcome: Passed House 218-208-3 on April 21, 2021, rollcall #127; introduced in Senate with 42 co-sponsors but no further Senate action during 2021.