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The Colorado Court of Appeals overturns the ruling in the Teller County Sheriff’s Office immigration case
The Colorado Court of Appeals on Wednesday overturned a ruling that Teller County sheriff’s deputies can act as federal immigration officers 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 favor of the sheriff in February 2023, ruling that the 287(g) agreement did not violate state law.
But the appeals court rejected Sells’ ruling that deputies were only subject to federal law when acting as immigration officers, ruling that Congress did not intend to override state law with the ICE agreements.
Based on state law, “…any portion of the TCSO Agreement that purports to authorize TCSO deputies to arrest or detain persons on the basis of civil immigration detentions is void,” the court wrote in a summary published on Wednesday.
In a statement, ACLU officials applauded the appeals court ruling.
“Local law enforcement officers have no business acting as federal immigration agents and detaining immigrants in jail – especially when state law expressly prohibits 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 nation finding that a sheriff violated state law by detaining people under a 287(g) agreement, the ACLU said.
The case will be sent back to the district court to determine whether a permanent injunction, which the ACLU has requested, should be granted.
The Teller County Sheriff’s Office could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
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