Colorado is set to become the first state to put significant limits on  Secure Communities, a program that shares local arrest data with federal immigration agents. Protection for domestic violence victims and new oversight measures appear alongside boilerplate language in a familiar ”memorandum of agreement” (MOA) that 35 other states have signed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Deportation Nation reviewed the agreement that Colorado Governor Bill Ritter announced today.

“My office has worked closely with stakeholders and the federal government over the past few months to address Colorado-specific concerns and modify the standard Secure Communities agreement,” Ritter said in a statement. “This means increased reporting, additional data reviews and greater transparency and accountability to ensure Secure Communities is implemented in Colorado in a balanced, fair and effective manner.”

However, the new language in the MOA creates a new concern for advocates. Dozens of immigrant-rights groups had written letters to Ritter’s office in the lead up to his decision, including CIRC, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and the Colorado Women’s Bar Association, as well as the City of Durango.

Organizer Judith Marquez from Rights for All People called Ritter’s decision “irresponsible,” while David Felice, Chief of Police in Durango, continued to express concern that “Secure Communities may have a negative effect on public safety” without substantive modifications.

One of the provisions asked for by advocates was directed towards protecting victims of domestic violence. The “ICE Responsibilities” section includes a unique requirement for ICE to acknowledge a Colorado statute that police report the arrest of a “suspected illegal alien, except for domestic violence arrestees, in which case the required reporting is not required until the arrestee is convicted for a domestic violence offense.” [Emphasis added.] But advocates argue that the language does not spell out any level of protection for domestic violence victims.

“The [domestic violence] issue appears to be recognized, but not addressed,” added Chris Newman, Legal Programs Director for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, who has been closely tracking the progress of negotiations in Colorado.

Another new requirement is that ICE provide the State Identification Bureau with quarterly statistics that track metrics such as the number of detainees who are identified through Secure Communities and then prosecuted criminally in federal court and/or deported. This could prompt other states to request ICE provide them with the same details.

Several other modifications concerned advocates, Meyer told Deportation Nation. These modifications include removing nearly all language relating to the categorization of offenses to Levels 1, 2, and 3 from the goals section of the standard MOA as well as eliminating language by ICE that it will focus on those convicted of Level 1 offenses, after a conviction and sentence have been complete under Section V.

Gov. Ritter is set to leave office Jan. 11 to make way for Governor-elect John Hickenlooper, the former mayor of Denver who has expressed support for Secure Communities despite opposition from immigrant advocates.

“Our next steps are to bring the current administration to task for capitulating on this issue and call upon the incoming administration to rescind the MOA immediately,” Meyer said.

Last week, New York revised its agreement on Dec. 30., but immigrant advocates say its new emphasis on a “risk-based approach” failed to limit ICE’s ability to deport people who pose no threat to public safety. They say they plan to ask new Gov. Andrew Cuomo to rescind the agreement completely.

More than a dozen states have not agreed to participate since Secure Communities. ICE told Congress it plans to expand the program nationwide by 2013.

Watch for updated coverage from Deportation Nation as this story develops.