Protect Safety of Individuals Who Are Immigrants

The Bottom Line

This bill puts privately operated immigration detention centers under a strict new microscope, allowing state and local health officials to conduct unannounced, quarterly inspections for food, water, and living conditions. It also hits state agencies with massive $50,000 penalties if they mishandle immigrants' personal data, and requires local police to undergo new training on handling immigration detainers.

What This Bill Actually Does

Right now, Colorado has exactly one privately operated detention center housing noncitizens for civil immigration proceedings, and the state inspects it periodically. But with projections showing up to six more of these facilities could open soon, this bill aggressively expands the state's oversight over any immigration detention center that isn't directly operated by the federal government.

The core of the legislation grants the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE)—as well as local public health agencies—the authority to conduct unannounced inspections of these private facilities at least once every three months. Inspectors will be looking closely at food safety, water quality, general standards of care, and confinement conditions. The rules set specific operational mandates: facilities are strictly prohibited from housing a minor in the same room as an adult they aren't related to, and they must maintain on-site medical and mental health professionals. Facilities will also have to submit an annual report detailing the health outcomes of their detained population, how well they are meeting dietary restrictions, and even the temperature conditions inside the building. If a facility steps out of line, the state can revoke its license and slap it with a $50,000 civil penalty for each offense.

But the bill doesn't stop at the facility doors; it also changes how state and local governments handle data and interact with federal immigration authorities. Under current law, individual government employees can be held liable for improperly disclosing an immigrant's personal identifying information (PII). This bill shifts that target, extending that liability—and the potential $50,000 fines—directly to the state agencies and political subdivisions themselves. To ensure everyone is on the same page, the Department of Law will distribute a model policy on data access and immigration enforcement by September 1, 2026. Finally, the bill requires the state's Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board to create new training standards regarding civil immigration detainers, which every certified peace officer in Colorado must complete by July 2027.

What It Means for You

If you interact with state or local government programs, this bill adds a massive layer of privacy protection regarding your data and immigration status. By shifting liability directly onto state agencies and local governments—rather than just individual rogue employees—the state is heavily disincentivizing unauthorized data sharing with federal immigration authorities. If an agency slips up and shares protected personal identifying information (PII), they face a steep $50,000 penalty. For the average resident, this means you can expect your local city councils, county clerks, and state agencies to lock down their data-sharing practices tight to avoid these fines.

For the general public, this legislation also fundamentally shapes how your local police operate on a day-to-day basis. By July 1, 2027, every certified peace officer in the state has to complete new training on how to legally handle civil immigration detainers. The practical takeaway here is that Colorado is drawing a very clear, formalized line between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement. Whether you agree with that separation or not, the result is that your local officers will be directed to focus strictly on local criminal issues, rather than acting as an extension of federal civil immigration enforcement.

Finally, if you are a community advocate, a concerned citizen, or just someone who likes to keep tabs on human rights in your backyard, you are about to get a lot more transparency. Even without having the full text of the final bill to review, the fiscal analysis makes it clear that public reporting is a cornerstone of this legislation. Starting in early 2027, the CDPHE will have to publish an annual compliance report online detailing exactly what inspectors are finding inside these facilities. You'll have raw, state-verified data on living conditions, health outcomes, and temperature controls inside these privately run federal centers.

What It Means for Your Business

If you are in the business of running private detention facilities, or if your company sub-contracts for them (think food service, HVAC maintenance, janitorial services, or healthcare staffing), this legislation completely rewrites your operating environment in Colorado. You will be subject to unannounced state inspections every three months, and your facility will actually be footing the bill for those inspections—estimated at roughly $1,567 per inspection in the first year. More importantly, your staffing model will legally require dedicated, on-site medical and mental health professionals. If you are a specialized healthcare staffing agency, this creates a distinct new pipeline for long-term contracts. Conversely, if you operate these facilities, failing to comply with the housing rules (like keeping minors out of rooms with unrelated adults) carries a massive $50,000 civil penalty per violation.

For technology, IT, and administrative vendors that contract with state agencies or local governments, pay close attention to the new data privacy rules. Because local governments and state agencies are now directly on the hook for massive fines if data is improperly shared for immigration enforcement, they will inevitably pass that risk down to their vendors. You should expect tighter data siloing requirements, stricter compliance audits, and tough new liability and indemnification clauses in your public contracts as the Department of Law rolls out its new model policy by September 1, 2026. If your software or cloud service houses public data, you need to ensure your architecture allows local governments to easily isolate personal identifying information (PII) from unauthorized federal access.

Lastly, if you operate a consulting, training, or compliance business that serves law enforcement, there is a clear mandate coming down the pipe. Every certified peace officer must complete the new POST Board training on civil immigration detainers by July 1, 2027. This creates an immediate, statewide need for updated curriculum delivery, tracking software, and administrative support at police and sheriff departments across Colorado. They will be looking for efficient ways to get their officers trained and certified without pulling too many of them off the streets at once.

Follow the Money

On paper, this bill is designed to pay for itself, but it relies on a user-fee model that could face legal friction. The state expects to spend about $132,000 in the first year to hire a full-time inspector and manage the new rules, dropping to about $72,000 annually after that. Instead of tapping the General Fund (your standard state tax dollars), the state is passing these costs directly to the private detention facilities through the newly created Immigration Facility Inspection and Detention Cash Fund.

However, here is the wildcard: the state anticipates jumping from one private detention facility to seven in the near future, all operating under federal contracts. If these private operators refuse to pay the state-levied inspection fees—arguing they are federal contractors and therefore exempt from local state fees—the state health department noted it might have to ask for General Fund money to cover the gap. Furthermore, any $50,000 fines collected from facilities or state agencies for violations won't go back into the general budget; they are funneled straight into the Immigration Legal Defense Fund, effectively using penalty money to fund legal representation for immigrants navigating the court system.

Where This Bill Stands

HB26-1276 is currently Sent to Governor. The latest official action came on 06/03/2026: Sent to the Governor.

That means both chambers have finished with the bill and it is now waiting for the governor to sign it or veto it.