The Colorado Court of Appeals on Wednesday overturned a ruling that Teller County sheriff’s deputies are allowed to act as federal immigration officials to detain people in the country illegally.
A group of Teller County residents and the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado first sued Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell in 2019 over the agency’s agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which trains and allows deputies to enforce federal immigration laws.
Teller County District Court Judge Scott Sells ruled in the sheriff’s favor in February 2023, finding the 287(g) agreement did not violate state law.
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But the appeals court rejected Sells’ ruling that deputies were only subject to federal law when acting as immigration officers and found that Congress did not intend to overrule state laws with the ICE agreements.
Based on state law, “…any portions of TCSO’s agreement purporting to authorize TCSO deputies to arrest or detain individuals on the basis of civil immigration detainers are invalid,” the court wrote in a summary published Wednesday.
In a statement, ACLU officials applauded the appeals court’s ruling.
“Local law enforcement officers have no business acting as federal immigration agents and keeping immigrants in jail — especially when state law expressly forbids them from doing so. The court’s ruling sends an important message that no Colorado sheriff is above the law,” said ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Tim Macdonald.
This is the first case in the country to find that a sheriff violated state law by detaining people through a 287(g) agreement, according to the ACLU.
The case will be sent back to district court to determine if there should be a permanent injunction, which was sought by the ACLU.
The Teller County Sheriff’s Office could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
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