Immigration bill dies; Gender-affirming surgery for minors makes the ballot; Bears Ears resource management plan under threat

Headlines Thursday, March 19, 2026

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    Immigration bill dies; Gender-affirming surgery for minors makes the ballot; Bears Ears resource management plan under threat KGNU News

 

Immigration bill dies

Colorado lawmakers rejected a bill this week that would have required local police to intervene if US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other immigration agents used excessive force. Two Democrats joined Republicans in voting against it.

The bill would have also blocked state and local officers from hiding their identities and made them undertake immigration enforcement training. Representative Chad Clifford was one of the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee who voted against it. He’s also a former police officer. He says many supporters of the measure misunderstood the state’s ability to regulate federal immigration enforcement, and that it doesn’t actually have the authority to regulate ICE. Clifford also said many of the provisions in the bill are already on the books.

The measure faced significant opposition from police chiefs. Sponsors say they are disappointed the committee sided with law enforcement over community members asking for protections against immigration agents.

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Gender-affirming surgery for minors makes the ballot

A proposal to ban gender-affirming surgery for minors in Colorado will be on the ballot in November. If approved, the measure would make it illegal for health care providers to perform surgeries on people under eighteen to alter their biological sex characteristics. Such surgeries are extremely rare among minors.

This is the second ballot measure backed by anti-LGBTQ+ political advocacy group Protect Kids Colorado mostly focused on anti-transgender issues. The other measure would block schools from letting transgender students play on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity. The group is also backing a third measure that would make child sex trafficking punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Bears Ears resource management plan under threat

Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah could be the next monument to have its resource management plan overturned by Congress, using the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Staffers from Utah Representative Mike Kennedy’s office attended a public lands council meeting in Emery County on March third — the day before Utah lawmakers introduced a resolution to overturn Grand Staircase-Escalante’s plan under the CRA.

District director HD Sanderson told the members of the council that while the vote on Grand Staircase’s plan had not yet taken place. “The congressman is also in talks with San Juan County to do a similar CRA for Bear’s Ears. So potentially to roll back the size of the monument and, and shrink it down. Those are still in the early stages of those discussions, but it would be a similar process to what’s happening to Grand Staircase right now,” said Sanderson. Another staffer told the council that it would likely be tough to “pull off” Bears Ears this year.

The Bears Ears resource management plan was finalized in 2025 as part of a co-stewardship agreement with the Bears Ears Commission, a group of five tribal nations. Traditional indigenous knowledge guides much of the plan. In a February interview with Anthony Sanchez Jr. of the Zuni Pueblo, co-chair of the Bears Ears Commission, he said it was important for tribes to have a seat at the table. “That means tribal priorities are guiding how the monument is managed… it wasn’t about checking boxes, it was about setting the conditions for long-term tribal-informed care of the landscape,” said Sanchez.

It’s not clear how overturning the plan would affect the inter-governmental agreement between the tribes and the U.S. government. Kennedy’s office has not yet responded to a request for comment.

This story was reported by Caroline Llanes for Rocky Mountain Community Radio.

 

You can hear daily headlines on the Morning Magazine, KGNU’s weekday morning show, with coverage of local and regional public affairs and news with headlines and commentary. Click here to listen to full episodes of the Morning Magazine.

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