Voters will decide if non-citizens can apply to work in Denver’s fire, police departments

DENVER ( KDVR ) — Denver voters’ homework for the general election just increased: Denver City Council approved two initiatives Monday night that voters will weigh in on this November to determine whether citizenship should be a requirement for members of the police or fire departments.

The proposal to get the initiative on the ballot got the unanimous support of the city council.
Several agency leaders within the city are standing behind it, too.

If approved by voters, a new ballot initiative would change the city’s charter to remove the U.S. citizen requirement for people wanting to apply to be an officer or firefighter.

Councilwoman Jamie Torres of Denver’s third district sponsored the effort to get it on the ballot. She’s making sure voters know who this would apply to.

“The number of callers and community members who weren’t sure who this applied to if we’re opening it up to non-citizens, that means a lot of things. It’s non-citizens who are eligible to apply so those would still be folks with work authorization. People with legal documentation so by in large, it would be legal permanent residents and DACA recipients,” said Torres.

Denver’s top cops support dropping citizen requirement

The initiative has the support of Denver Fire Chief Desmond Fulton and Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas. While Thomas acknowledges the effort could help with recruitment, he said his support stems from a perspective of equity.

“We’re talking about a different population that already has the opportunity to work in the city, work in this country but just can’t be Denver police officers or Denver firefighters,” said Thomas. “It wasn’t really the goal to help us reach 167 officers in 2024 or you know help us with our recruiting challenges that we’ve historically had for some time. It was really more about fairness. And also about doing all that we can to be the most representative of the communities that we serve.”

In 2018, the Denver Sheriff’s Department similarly revised its process. Chief Elias Diggins said his department does not keep up with how many people get into his department this way but he believes it’s made his force more diverse.

“We are the most diverse law enforcement agency in the region, not just in Colorado but in the surrounding states as well. One of the benefits of having a program like this is having a diverse department like we do,” Diggins said.

A change in state law passed last year paved the way for DACA recipients who work in law enforcement to use firearms. Supporters are hoping Denver residents give their seal of approval once they know the details of the measure.

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