Wyoming Lawmakers Say “Hell No” to Colorado’s Proposal to Sue ICE Agents

In a forceful rejection of a neighboring state’s legislative effort, Wyoming officials this week declared that a Colorado bill designed to allow lawsuits against federal immigration officers would be dead on arrival in the Cowboy State. The Colorado proposal, Senate Bill 26-005, would create a path for individuals to sue U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other law enforcement officers in state court for alleged constitutional rights violations during enforcement actions, including at protests.

Wyoming state Sen. John Kolb, a Rock Springs Republican on the Joint Judiciary Committee, did not mince words. “It’s not even a no for me, it’s hell no,” Kolb told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s an insane bill, and thank God I live in Wyoming.” Kolb argued that qualified immunity—the legal doctrine protecting officers from personal liability for actions taken in their official capacity—exists for a reason. “There are laws in place that protect those with a sworn duty to serve and protect,” he said, adding that his son is in law enforcement. “You don’t go after the people who enforce the law.”

The Colorado bill’s main sponsor, Democratic Sen. Mike Weissman of Aurora, said the legislation is a response to a “totality” of events at the state and national level, not a direct reaction to recent high-profile protest deaths in Minneapolis. Weissman argued that with the federal government under the Trump administration unlikely to hold agents accountable, states must step in. “If a government can violate the rights of its citizens, then that’s not a country we should [support],” he said.

Weissman acknowledged the vast political divide, noting such a bill would never gain traction in Wyoming. However, he posed a hypothetical to conservative audiences: “If a Wyoming person is down here visiting family, maybe they join a protest—or they don’t but happen to be of Hispanic ancestry—and somebody cracks their head, they would deserve some [legal remedy].”

In Wyoming, the sentiment was unanimously dismissive. Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak, whose office has a 25-person ICE task force, called the bill a “feel-good law” and a “waste of time.” He argued it would hinder law enforcement recruitment in Colorado, possibly benefiting Wyoming. “That’s just another thing that causes us to recruit more officers from Colorado,” Kozak said.

Retired UW law professor and Democratic State Rep. Ken Chestek of Laramie highlighted the legal tightrope. “Qualified immunity is an attempt to balance public safety versus private rights,” he said, noting that avenues for legal redress already exist for clear rights violations. The debate, he said, is a classic one of “where do you draw the line.”

For Sen. Kolb, the line is firmly drawn. Should a similar bill ever surface in Cheyenne, he said, “I look forward to voting no on that, and I would do it with great glee.”