U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement fired back Wednesday after the state of Colorado prohibited police from keeping immigrants in custody at ICE’s request, calling the new law “dangerous” and suggesting it will lead to violence.
Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday signed House Bill 1124, ending Colorado’s compliance with ICE detainers, or holds, which are requests by federal law enforcement to detain immigrants for up to 48 hours beyond their release date if ICE believes they’re in the country illegally.
“By signing Colorado’s House Bill 1124, the state has codified a dangerous policy that deliberately obstructs our country’s lawful immigration system, protects serious criminal alien offenders, and undermines public safety,” ICE said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
As a result of the new law, “criminals will now be returned to the streets throughout Colorado,” the agency said. “This is an irresponsible law that will undoubtedly have tragic future consequences at the expense of innocent citizens, lawful residents and visitors.”
The federal agency’s unusually aggressive statement on the legislation accused the Colorado General Assembly and Polis of “violating their own primary mission of protecting the public.”
The governor’s office said Wednesday that ICE’s reaction is “a tempest in a teapot.”
“This law simply puts existing practice, that the courts already require, into law,” his office said. “ICE and the Trump administration are just trying to create false fear. The governor was clear throughout the campaign and during the legislative session that he is against Colorado becoming a sanctuary state.”
Under the new law, police still will be able to assist federal immigration authorities when executing a warrant from a judge. ICE detainers are voluntary requests, not court orders signed by a judge.
“The state should not use its resources for enforcing federal civil immigration law,” said Rep. Adrienne Benavidez, an Adams County Democrat and HB 1124 sponsor, after the bill signing.
ICE detainers are controversial and have been successfully challenged at times in court. Some Colorado sheriffs have refused to honor them. The new law also prohibits probation officers from providing a person’s information to federal immigration officials and requires Colorado police read immigrants their Miranda rights when coordinating a telephone or video interview with ICE.
Several civil rights groups testified in favor of the bill, and lawmakers said sheriffs in Boulder County and Adams County support it. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle wrote in an email, which was shared with lawmakers, that ICE detainers “lack judicial review and are getting counties in trouble all across the country.” He said the bill keeps Colorado sheriffs out of legal debates.
The back and forth between ICE and the state of Colorado comes at a time when the federal agency is under scrutiny on several fronts for deaths in its detention centers and the Trump administration’s separation of families at the southern border. In Colorado, criticisms have focused on deaths and disease outbreaks at its Aurora facility, along with claims that ICE isn’t transparent.
Defenders of ICE and its detainers, meanwhile, point to the Denver murder of Tim Cruz in 2017. Ever Valles, who pleaded guilty to two crimes in connection with the incident, was the subject of an ICE detainer but nonetheless released from a Denver jail before the shooting.
ICE and jail officials have told different stories about when the federal agency was notified about Valles’ release.
