Michael Bennet

Immigration has become more than a "hot-button" issue in the United States. It is a critical component to how the country functions in the foreseeable future. Undocumented immigrants are not going to stop coming into the country simply because there might be rules or laws against it.

Instead, it's up to leaders to do the natural thing: adapt to realities. And adapt is exactly what Colorado senator Michael Bennet has done.

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ICE.gov

State lawmakers have passed a bill that repeals a much-criticized 2006 law requiring local law enforcement to report anyone they suspect of being undocumented to federal immigration authorities. The bill, HB1258, now heads to the governor's desk.

Immigrant advocate Justin Valas credits the bill's passage partly to "having people come out and share their stories," he says. Showing the human impact of so-called "show me your papers" laws is powerful, he adds. A new report endeavors to do more of that.

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Valenzuela Gonzalez.

As Imelda Valenzuela Gonzalez headed into the Denver Immigration Court just before 8:30 this morning for a hearing on her deportation case, a crowd of supporters that had gathered on the sidewalk in front of the court building chanted in unison, "Si se puede!"

When the 43-year-old mother of three emerged a short while later, the crowd was still chanting. Valenzuela Gonzalez's daughter shared with them what happened: Her mother's case was continued until December 4, giving her family an eight-month reprieve.

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A bill that would grant undocumented immigrant students in-state tuition in Colorado is set to go before a Senate Appropriations Committee next week. Senate Bill 33, aka Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow (ASSET), breezed through a hearing by a Senate Education Committee with a bipartisan vote of 6-3 on January 24, and as it moves toward the Senate floor, expectations, and hopes, are high.

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Dick Lamm

Former Colorado Governor Dick Lamm is one of more than a hundred officials, public leaders and organizations to sign on to the so-called Colorado Compact on immigration -- an effort Senator Michael Bennet is spearheading. But Lamm, who has in the past made some attention-getting statements on immigration, says he has been pushing one policy that no one on the left or the right seems interested in: E-Verify.

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This week's cover story on Scott Gessler delves into two of the Republican Secretary of State's biggest controversies -- allegations that he misused public dollars for partisan travels and accusations that he has suppressed voters. Gessler earned the latter criticisms for his initiatives to prevent voter fraud, and for our story, we researched the extent to which these crimes have been committed and prosecuted. Here, we take a closer look at the small number of actual voter fraud cases in Colorado.

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"Does the GOP have a death wish?" That's what former congressman, former gubernatorial candidate and longtime rabble-rouser Tom Tancredo asks, in the wake of a number of Republicans signing off last week on the Colorado Compact on Immigration.

Tancredo, who left the Rrepublican Party to run for governor in 2010, is now ostensibly back in the fold. But he definitely was not among the GOP leaders signing onto the compact.

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Colorado spends about $13 million a year to enforce a 2006 state law that requires local cops to report to federal immigration authorities arrestees who they suspect are undocumented immigrants, according to a report by the Colorado Fiscal Institute. Those reported to the feds spend an average of 22 days longer in jail than other arrestees -- and the cost adds up quickly.

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Big photos below.

In September, Erica Guzman, twenty, and Stefanie Cardwell, 23, spent nights sleeping in their car. The two women, who have been dating for four years, say they had nowhere else to go. The search for shelter is especially difficult for Guzman, an undocumented Canadian immigrant. We spoke to the couple for this week's feature, "Bed Check" -- and here, we take a closer look at their daily battles and the circumstances that led them to homelessness.

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Scott Gessler

Colorado's Secretary of State Scott Gessler maintains that voter fraud is a serious problem -- and after launching initiatives to prevent illegal ballots from being cast, his office says that exactly 518 voters were removed from the rolls due to non-citizenship -- more than expected. Some may have taken themselves off the list after being contacted by his office, while others were likely taken off by county clerks.

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