Denver mayor says legal immigrants are being denied citizenship due to work in marijuana industry

Hancock is seeking guidance from U.S. attorney general and directing city staff to help

Justin Wingerter and Sam Tabachnik

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and City Attorney Kristin Bronson are pressing the Trump administration to rethink its citizenship policies after legal immigrants in Denver have been denied the opportunity to become naturalized citizens because they work in the marijuana industry.

Michael Ciaglo, Special to the Denver Post

The Dab cultivation manager Oswaldo Barrientos, who immigrated to the United States when he was a year old, stands for a portrait outside a marijuana grow room he oversees Wednesday, April 3, 2019 in Denver.

One of the people affected is Oswaldo Barrientos, who has lived in the United States for more than 20 years. Brought to the U.S. by his mother from El Salvador when he was 1 year old, Barrientos has no criminal history. He got into the marijuana industry after his mom was diagnosed with cancer because he saw how effective it could be for her symptoms.

“I thought I was a shoo-in,” Barrientos said in an interview Wednesday from The Dab, a marijuana cultivation business, where he has worked for the past five years. “Then I received a letter from the government saying that I ‘lacked moral character.’ I was shocked.”

In a letter Wednesday to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, Hancock said he met with Barrientos and another immigrant from Lithuania, who has also lived in Colorado for two decades.

“They have graduated from our schools,” the mayor wrote. “They have paid their taxes. They are working to achieve the American dream and complying with the processes in place to become a part of our great society, but were denied naturalization solely because of their cannabis industry employment.”

The letter to the attorney general is Denver’s latest effort to resist the Trump administration’s immigration policies. And that resistance has drawn criticisms from the federal government and Trump supporters, who have labeled Denver a so-called sanctuary city.

Only one of the two immigrants, Barrientos, has been named. The other is remaining anonymous for fear of complicating her employment in the medical field, according to a news release from the city attorney’s office.

“People like me, immigrants specifically, feel like we’ve been targeted because we work in this industry,” Barrientos said.

Debbie Cannon, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson, said in a statement: “Marijuana is illegal under federal law and as a federal agency USCIS is required to adjudicate based upon federal law.”

The statement added that despite state laws that allow marijuana use, “as a federal agency, we are legally unable to make special considerations in these cases unless or until federal law is changed.”

Aaron Elinoff, one of Barrientos’ attorneys, said the policy is simply an extension of the federal government’s crackdown on immigrants.

“If the executive branch is so intent on upholding federal law, you would see the U.S. attorney’s office prosecuting every marijuana business owner, everybody who worked in the industry,” Elinoff said. “But they’re not. Instead, they’re merely targeting immigrants.”

Michael Ciaglo, Special to the Denver Post

The Dab cultivation manager Oswaldo Barrientos, who immigrated to the United States when he was a year old, stands for a portrait in a marijuana grow room he oversees Wednesday, April 3, 2019 in Denver.

Hancock’s letter to the attorney general seeks federal guidance on cannabis employment.

“The City and County of Denver respectfully requests formal guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that would clarify and adjust policies that are negatively impacting the legal immigration status for people who work or have previously worked in Colorado’s legal cannabis industry,” the letter said. “We strongly believe that such guidance is imperative to ensuring consistent implementation and enforcement of state marijuana laws and regulations in the more than 30 U.S. states that have chosen to fully or partially legalize cannabis.”

In the meantime, the city’s public access television station will begin running announcements, warning immigrants of the risks of involvement in the marijuana industry. The city says it will distribute a flyer that warns of those risks.

The flyer, which features Denver’s city logo and slogan, along with images of marijuana plants, warns in English and Spanish that “working in the marijuana industry could impact your immigration or citizenship status” and advises immigrants to consult with an immigration attorney.

While Barrientos has not been charged with any crimes, he had to give sworn testimony in the citizenship hearing where he was asked to read federal drug offenses and then admit that his work in the marijuana industry was in violation of federal law.

“We believe that the government is using these sworn statements against those applicants,” said Bryce Downer, another attorney representing Barrientos. “They could do this to deprive them of their liberty, without bond, and to place them in removal proceedings to essentially strip them of their lawful permanent resident status.”

Barrientos and the unnamed immigrant referenced by Hancock are represented by Novo Legal Group. The Denver immigration law firm also represents Jeanette Vizguerra, an undocumented immigrant seeking shelter in a local church to avoid deportation.

Elinoff said that his clients are appealing the decision, and would consider challenging the policy in federal court if the appeals fail.