Should Denver eliminate citizenship requirements for police and fire jobs?

Denver voters could decide whether the city should lift citizenship requirements for police and fire department jobs to allow people with certain work and residency requirements to apply for jobs in those departments.

On Tuesday, the City Council’s Finance and Administration Committee forwarded the potential ballot proposal to the full City Council. If the full City Council decides to put the question on the ballot, voters will decide on it in November.

The proposed charter change would remove the citizenship requirement for service with the Denver Police and Fire Departments, but applicants would still have to meet a number of other standards that apply to all potential recruits, including things like age and education requirements, physical and mental testing, and background checks.

The possible change would apply to:

• Persons with a valid work permit
• Persons with legal permanent residence
• People with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status who came to the United States as children.

New immigrants without valid papers or work permits would not be allowed to apply.

The Denver Sheriff and other city departments already allow qualified noncitizens to serve in the military.

In 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Denver Sheriff’s Department reached a $10,000 settlement after concluding that the department required U.S. citizenship to apply, which was not permitted under U.S. immigration and nationality law.

In 2023, a federal bill would allow DACA recipients to carry firearms, lifting a ban that prevented an entire group from becoming police officers.

In many other cities and states across the country, including Aurora, certain non-citizens are already allowed to work in fire and police departments.

The city council received letters of support from Fire Chief Desmond Fulton, Police Chief Ron Thomas, the Denver Civil Service Commission, which is responsible for recruiting, and a number of nonprofit organizations that work with immigrants.

“I look forward to welcoming the experiences and unique talents of all those who call Denver home to our department. These people will truly make us a better agency,” Thomas wrote in his letter.

This move comes as police in Denver and other cities struggle with staff shortages and recruitment issues.

In May, the former director of Denver’s Civil Service Commission was fired by his colleagues after he alleged that the city was lowering recruit acceptance criteria, including standards for psychological assessments, in order to hire more staff and meet recruitment numbers.

“Law enforcement agencies nationwide are facing recruitment challenges due to changing social attitudes, demographic shifts and rising retirement rates,” the rest of the commissioners wrote in a letter to the council. “These shortages have led to increased officer burnout, longer response times and impacts on daily patrols. Denver’s move to consider out-of-state recruits is consistent with many other jurisdictions addressing these issues.”

City leaders say Denver already has enough qualified candidates interested in police and fire department jobs.

“We are actively turning away people who want this kind of job,” said Council President Jamie Torres, who supports the measure along with Council Member Amanda Sandoval.

Sandoval said the timing of the possible ballot measure had nothing to do with the large influx of new immigrants who have come to Denver in the past two years, many of whom do not yet have legal residency or work permits.

“This wasn’t for them. It can be for them, but they have to go through the same process as everyone else,” Sandoval said.

The City Council will hold a final vote on the change on July 15.