Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly and District Attorney George Brauchler filed a lawsuit against Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, challenging the constitutionality of a state statute on immigration visas.

Filed on Wednesday, the suit also named Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Director of Public Safety Stan Hilkey, and Division of Criminal Justice Director Matt Luan as defendants.

Weekly and Brauchler are challenging the constitutionality of 2021’s House Bill 1060, which sets timeframes for completing or denying U-Visa applications. U visas, also known as U nonimmigrant status, are provided to individuals who are victims of certain crimes, have suffered mental or physical abuse, and are helping with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of that crime.

The bill also prohibits law enforcement from disclosing certain information about U visa recipients to federal immigration authorities and requires them to provide crime victims with information about the U visa.

Brauchler and Weekly argued the statute interferes with federal immigration law by “restricting the discretion of state officials and preventing them from considering all factors required under federal law, including whether the applicant has meaningful information related to the crime that is prosecutable in our courts.”

“This misguided law attempts to force Colorado officials to rubber-stamp U-Visa applications, instead of exercising independent judgment as to which cases warrant the use of these powerful and scarce tools,” said Brauchler. “The legislature has again injected politics into immigration law by converting this valuable tool for law enforcement into a ‘golden ticket’ to stay in America, even if the non-citizen can do nothing to hold a bad guy accountable or improve public safety.”

Weekly argued that the law carries “serious public safety consequences” by prohibiting what information law enforcement can share with federal immigration authorities.

“This statute sets a dangerous precedent by forcing law enforcement to certify immigration applications even when the facts don’t support it,” he said. “When politicians dictate outcomes and silence honest assessments, it erodes truth in the justice system and compromises public safety. Decisions about cooperation and credibility should be made by law enforcement professionals – not mandated by statute.”

Brauchler and Weekly are seeking an injunction to prohibit further enforcement of House Bill 1061.