Cannabis Workers Denied Naturalization on Moral Character Grounds
From ABC News Denver:
The city of Denver and Mayor Michael Hancock have asked the U.S. Department of Justice for official guidance on how it and immigration officials are treating legal immigrants working in Colorado’s marijuana industry after at least two immigrants were denied naturalization because of their work inside the legal industry. . . .
Hancock sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr Wednesday requesting clarification on how the federal government planned to interact with the 34 states, including Colorado, and several U.S. territories where either medical or recreational marijuana is legal.
Medical marijuana has been legal in Colorado since 2000 and the state started selling recreational marijuana in 2014 after voters approved a measure in 2012 with a 55-percent majority.
Hancock, City Attorney Kristin Bronson and excise and Licenses Executive Director Ashley Kilroy met with two Denver immigrants Tuesday – one from El Salvador and one from Lithuania – who had both been permanent U.S. residents for more than two years and who were recently denied naturalization because of their current or past work in the marijuana industry. Both graduated from schools in Colorado and have lived here for years, the mayor’s office said.
Oswaldo Barrientos told the city officials that he was surprised when he was asked about his job at a dispensary while being questioned during a citizenship interview last fall, read more…