DENVER -- The immigration issue took center stage in the Colorado governor's race after reports that Democratic candidate Bill Ritter approved plea deals allowing legal and illegal aliens to avoid deportation during his tenure as Denver district attorney. From 1998 to 2004, Mr. Ritter oversaw plea bargains in 152 cases that permitted defendants to plead guilty to agricultural trespass instead of more serious charges, including assault, drug trafficking and vehicle theft, that carry a penalty of mandatory deportation, according to court documents. In one case, an attorney for Ernesto Leon Reyes, a resident alien facing deportation after being charged with...