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AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — Aurora city council postponed its discussion on two proposals aimed at helping immigrants in dealings with immigration officials.

Council was supposed to dive into the details about a proposed Immigration Legal Defense Fund and the creation of “Safe Spaces” during their study session Monday night. However, discussion of other agenda items ran long, forcing them to roll the items over to their next meeting on Dec. 21.

The first proposal suggests formally barring Aurora staff, including police officers, from cooperating with federal immigration authorities on enforcement. This applies to staffers off-duty as well. 

“It is common and well-established policy of Aurora’s agencies, employees, and officers not to conduct the work of federal immigration enforcement, with limited exceptions where already required by state or federal law and in the interest of national security,” the proposal says. 

The proposed change reinforces Aurora’s current informal policy. It also introduces an idea to create “safe spaces,” where immigration authorities would not be allowed into any city owned or operated property for the purposes of an immigration investigation. 

According to the proposal, the goal is to “assure a safe community for people.”

However, some Aurora city council members believe the measure would make Aurora less safe. 

“This impacts ICE’s ability to go after drugs, go after gangs, go after prostitution in the city,” council member Dave Gruber told FOX31. 

While he agrees in the protection of law-abiding immigrants, Gruber says he worries this measure would attract those who are more likely to commit felony crimes. 

“It’s an open invitation to a criminal from another country to live in Aurora and that person will not be protected, but simply ignored by police and police will not share any of that information with ICE,” Gruber said. 

The second proposal involves creating a new monetary fund, partially supported by taxpayers, to cover the costs of lawyers to represent immigrants at deportation hearings. 

According to the measure, five out of six people at the ICE detention center in Aurora go to deportation hearings without legal representation. It suggests that an attorney could help more of those facing deportation achieve a better outcome than without legal help. 

“Access to legal representation for indigent individuals in removal proceedings is an important tool to help Aurora build and sustain a diverse, equitable, and economically successful community,” the measure says.