In this case, the ACLU of Colorado successfully challenged the Teller County Sheriff’s practice of holding immigrants in jail—beyond when state law required their release—pursuant to a 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”). A “287(g) agreement” is a written agreement between ICE and a state, or any political subdivision of a state, under which ICE trains and certifies local law enforcement officers to perform certain immigration enforcement functions under the supervision of an ICE officer. This is the first case in the country holding that a sheriff violates state law by detaining immigrants pursuant to a 287(g) agreement with ICE.
The sheriff’s 287(g) Agreement purported to vest jail deputies with, among other things, the power to arrest and detain aliens and to transport detained aliens. In practice, jail deputies exercised their duties under the 287(g) Agreement several times, including by arresting three people housed at the Teller County Jail and detaining them after they were eligible for release from state custody.
Representing five Teller County taxpayers, ACLU of Colorado lawyers filed the lawsuit in 2019, shortly after Colorado enacted a statute that expressly forbids state and local law enforcement officers from arresting or detaining persons based on ICE documents that are not signed by a judge — including the form relied on by the sheriff. The lawsuit sought declaratory and injunctive relief, alleging that arrests and detentions carried out under the 287(g) Agreement with ICE are prohibited by the statute and the Colorado Constitution.
In 2020, the district court ruled that the taxpayers did not have legal standing to sue. In 2022, the Court of Appeals reversed the ruling and sent the case back to the district court for trial. At the trial in January 2023, the ACLU presented evidence showing that individuals were detained at the jail under the 287(g) program for days after state law required their release and then turned over to ICE.
While a Teller County judge would have permitted these prolonged detentions, the Court of Appeals reversed that decision. On July 3, 2024, the Colorado Court of Appeals held that Colorado law prohibits the sheriff from arresting or detaining individuals on the basis of civil immigration detainers and, therefore, that any portions of the 287(g) Agreement purporting to authorize jail deputies to arrest or detain individuals on the basis of civil immigration detainers are invalid.
“We brought this case out of concern for the harm that the Sheriff’s agreement inflicts on all Coloradans. 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.
ACLU PRESS RELEASE:
Colorado Court of Appeals Rules Against Teller County Sheriff's Office, Deems County Agreement With ICE Unlawful, July 3, 2024
ACLU's Lawsuit Against Teller County Sheriff's ICE Operations Moves to Appeals, May 26, 2020
ACLU Lawsuit: Sheriff's Agreement With ICE Violates Colorado Law, June 27, 2019
