ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. — When it comes to immigration, Rep. Yadira Caraveo has been all over the map.
Three years after calling on the Biden administration to defund ICE, Caraveo joined Republicans on Thursday in “strongly condemning” the Biden administration for failing to secure the border.
The vote completes a 180-degree turn for Caraveo on immigration, as she has moved from a safely Democratic seat in the state legislature to the most vulnerable Democratic seat in Colorado’s Congressional delegation.
Caraveo was one of six House Democrats to vote with Republicans on the measure targeting “Border Czar” Kamala Harris. Caraveo had endorsed Harris for President four days earlier.
Caraveo declined an interview with 9NEWS.
Caraveo, a self-described daughter of immigrants, is in her first term representing Colorado’s newly drawn 8th Congressional District, the state’s most heavily Latino congressional district.
Her decision to align with Republicans on immigration drew immediate criticism from some Colorado Democrats.
“Who would any (Democrat) elevate a Republican lie designed to hurt our nominee by demonizing immigrants?” asked State Rep. Javier Mabrey of Denver on X, formerly Twitter.
“Maybe Congresswoman Caraveo should spend more time reviewing facts instead of kowtowing to racist Republican rantings,” DNC delegate Joe Salazar, who preceded Caraveo in representing Colorado’s House District 31 in Adams County, said.
While holding a safe Democratic seat in the state legislature, Caraveo was a reliable vote for immigration policy supported by progressives.
In 2019, Caraveo sponsored a successful bill prohibiting local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration detainers.
In 2021, Caraveo sponsored a bill that became law, repealing a ban on state contracts with companies that “knowingly employ or contract persons who are undocumented.” That same year, Caraveo sponsored a successful bill to replace the term “illegal alien” with “worker without authorization” in state contracts. She also sponsored a measure removing “lawful presence” as a requirement for public housing benefits.
Caraveo joined a contingent of Colorado’s most progressive state legislators in signing a September 2021 letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris calling on their administration to “divest from immigration enforcement agencies like ICE and CBP.”
A year later, when running for Congress, Caraveo changed her position on defunding immigration enforcement and border patrol agencies.
“I would not defund either of those agencies,” Caraveo said in a debate on 9NEWS in October 2022.
Watch the entire debate here:
In 2023, Caraveo was the only Democrat in Colorado’s House delegation who did not co-sponsor a bill to create a pathway to citizenship for some immigrants in the U.S. with legal authorization.
On Thursday, Caraveo joined Republicans in a symbolic measure “strongly condemning” Vice President Kamala Harris by name for her handling of the border. The messaging bill, which will not pass the Democrat-controlled Senate, is part of a Republican strategy to target Harris as she becomes the Democratic presidential nominee and put vulnerable Democrats like Caraveo in a tough position.
A Caraveo spokesperson said she was unavailable to discuss the vote Thursday due to her travel schedule.
“The voters of the Front Range and Northern Colorado sent me to Congress to be an independent voice who will stand up to party leaders when they’re wrong,” Caraveo said in a written statement. “I will continue to work with the Biden administration when it’s right for Coloradans, and I will make my opposition known on issues where I believe they could do more, including on immigration.”
Caraveo faces Republican Gabe Evans in November’s general election.