If the Teller County Sheriff’s Office has its way, the county’s taxpayers will foot the bill for training and implementing a program that would allow three of its deputies to act as federal immigration enforcement agents.
But six Teller County residents in conjunction with the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado say that’s a violation of state law and the Colorado constitution.
The ACLU filed a lawsuit Thursday in Teller County District Court, asking a judge to stop the county from enacting an agreement, known as the 287(g), with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The civil rights organization calls the agreement unlawful.
LM Otero, Associated Press file
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement prepare to apprehend an undocumented immigrant in Dallas on March 6, 2015.
ICE has 80 agreements with counties in 21 states, according to data from the agency. The agreements allow local law enforcement officers to act as federal immigration agents, identifying, interviewing and detaining people they suspect are in violation of immigration law. The officers or deputies are trained by ICE, which would supervise the program. The programs, according to the federal regulations, must remain consistent with state and local law.
The ACLU alleges that in Colorado, the program is not consistent with state statute. In May, Colorado’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed a law that prohibits county sheriffs from holding inmates past their release dates so ICE agents can pick them up. The agreement also isn’t consistent with the Colorado constitution and a 2018 court ruling, said ACLU legal director Mark Silverstein.
Teller County Sheriff’s Office is the only Colorado agency participating in the 287(g) program. The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office ended its agreement in 2015 but continued to hold prisoners after they had posted bond or their cases had been resolved at the request of ICE. A state district court ruled the practice unconstitutional last year after an ACLU class-action lawsuit.
The ACLU also sued Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell in July 2018 seeking the release of a man charged with two misdemeanors the group said was being held illegally based on an ICE detainer. They ultimately settled the case after the inmate’s release and with the agreement that the sheriff’s office would provide information about its 287(g) agreement.
The program agreement could cost taxpayers millions of dollars that could instead be used for enforcement of local and state laws, according to the lawsuit. The sheriff does not have the authority to hold inmates past their regular criminal proceedings for ICE detainers or warrants that are not signed by a judge, the lawsuit stated.
The Teller County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
