DENVER – All of Colorado’s county jails have now confirmed to the ACLU of Colorado that they no longer honor detainer requests from federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

ICE routinely issues detainer requests, or “ICE holds,” to local jails.  They ask sheriffs to continue holding a person in jail for up to five days past the time when the person would otherwise be released, so that ICE can decide whether to take that person into federal custody for a possible immigration violation.

Between October 2011 and August 2013, ICE issued over 8,700 detainer requests to Colorado jails.

Last April, the ACLU of Colorado wrote to every sheriff in the state explaining that the additional detention amounts to a new arrest, which Colorado sheriffs lack the authority under Colorado law to make.

Several sheriffs responded within days to the ACLU letter by announcing that they would no longer honor the holds.  Over the following months, the ACLU of Colorado advocated through letters and phone calls to the remaining sheriffs to convince them to change their policies and stop imprisoning persons on the basis of ICE detainers.

According to the ACLU, Colorado is now the first state in the country in which all county jailers have individually decided to reject detainer requests from ICE.  (See note below)

“Colorado sheriffs now agree that they have no legal authority to deprive persons of liberty—even for a few days—simply because ICE suspects an immigration violation,” said Mark Silverstein, Legal Director of the ACLU of Colorado.

“Nevertheless, some sheriffs are continuing to go out of their way to notify ICE of the upcoming release of a suspected immigration violator, in the hope that ICE will take custody as the person leaves the county jail,”  Silverstein added.  “By doing so, these sheriffs  violate the spirit and intent of last year’s SB 90 repeal, which recognized that when local police get involved in enforcing federal immigration law, they risk undermining the trust between police and the large immigrant populations that they serve.”

In its repeal of SB 90 during the 2013 legislative session, the Colorado legislature lifted requirements of local law enforcement to participate in enforcing federal immigration law in order to “enhance public safety by building trust between immigrant communities and local police” and to “ensure that local resources are focused on public safety issues instead of on immigration issues that are the responsibility of the federal government.”

In June, the ACLU of Colorado successfully negotiated a $30,000 settlement with Arapahoe County on behalf of Claudia Valdez, a woman who called for help in 2012 following a domestic violence incident, was arrested herself, and held for three days in the Arapahoe County Jail after a judge had ordered her release, due to a detainer request from ICE.

[Note: The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is an exception.  Pursuant to Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, ICE has trained certain deputies of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and delegated to them the authority to exercise the powers of federal immigration officers.] 

Additional resources:

• Read the ACLU letter sent to all Colorado sheriffs in April
• Read Claudia’s Story: How a Domestic Violence Victim’s Call for Help Resulted in Three Days in Jail and Deportation Proceedings

Sept. 17, 2014
DENVER - Saying “it goes too far and is too extreme,” 82 Colorado faith leaders today joined together in united opposition to Amendment 67, the proposed constitutional amendment to ban all abortions, including in cases of rape, incest and when the health of the mother is at risk. Among many of its far-reaching consequences, Amendment 67 would also restrict access to certain forms of birth control, and restrict access to in-vitro fertilization for women who want to have a family.
“This amendment would impose one religious viewpoint in our state constitution, when there are many religious perspectives on this issue, said Rev. Jann Halloran, president of the board of the Colorado Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, which provides faith-based care and services to women. “We support the rights of conscience, and a woman’s capacity to make a personal decision with consultation from her doctor, her family, her clergy and her God.”
Signatories include representatives from Christian, Jewish and Unitarian Universalist organizations and denominations, including Rev. Dr. Thomas V. Wolfe, President and CEO of The Iliff School of Theology; Rabbi Joseph R. Blackof Temple Emanuel in Denver; Rev. Amanda Henderson, executive director of the Colorado Interfaith Alliance; Rev. Sue Artt of theRocky Mountain Conference-United Church of Christ; and Rev. Nancy Bowen, Pacific Western Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
“There are several things that are upsetting about Amendment 67,” said RabbiBlack, who heads the largest Jewish congregation in the state. “The manipulative use of language confuses voters to make them think they are voting on behalf of women’s rights, when in fact it’s exactly the opposite. While my tradition upholds the sanctity of life, the life and health of the mother is always more important than that of a fetus. To claim that a fertilized egg is anything other than a potential life is to go against Jewish values. It is a dangerous precedent.”
“This amendment goes too far in criminalizing women and doctors, and intruding on private decisions regarding family planning, birth control and fertility treatments,” said Rev. Amanda Henderson, executive director of The Interfaith Alliance of Colorado. “The Interfaith Alliance stands for freedom for all people to make decisions regarding their own faith and values, and we speak out when this freedom is threatened.”
A copy of the full statement follows.  Link here to the list of 82 faith leaders who have signed on. 

The Vote NO 67 coalition is broad-based, nonpartisan coalition of doctors, nurses and other health care professionals, faith and civil rights leaders, attorneys, Latina, African-American and Asian-American organizations, and dozens of community groups.
More information, including a list of organizations that have also endorsed the Vote NO 67 campaign, can be found at www.VoteNO67.com.

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Statement To Oppose Amendment 67 By Colorado Faith Leaders

As faith leaders, we stand in opposition to Amendment 67. By establishing fertilized eggs as persons, this amendment will in effect outlaw and criminalize abortion under any circumstance, including rape, incest and the life and health risks of the mother. Amendment 67 would effectively put into the Colorado Constitution one religious position, negating other faithful perspectives on this issue. It would, therefore, take away the religious freedom of many people of faith who respect the private rights of women and families to make personal choices based upon their own conscience.
We believe religious freedom is one of the foundations of our democracy, and one religious belief or doctrine should not be written into the state Constitution. There are many religious perspectives on this issue, and many Christian, Jewish, Unitarian Universalist and other people of faith agree strongly that a woman can make a faithful decision for an abortion under many circumstances, a decision that is loving, fair, and ethical based upon her own personal medical history, beliefs and needs.
These issues of reproductive justice are played out in public, but we know as clergy that individual women and their families are the ones who suffer in private. We have walked with women who have been abused and violated, and we have struggled with women and families who must make heartrending decisions about their own lives and the future of their families.
We respect open and public dialogue on these issues which affect public policy and the common good, and which include religious perspectives. We do not agree among ourselves as to where each line needs to be drawn, but Amendment 67 goes too far and is too extreme, leaving no ground for the protection of women nor their personal ethical agency to make decisions based upon advice from their doctors, support from their clergy, and their relationship with God.
Please stand with us and vote NO on Amendment 67.

Constitution Day is the one day a year when we take time to celebrate the signing of our Constitution — the supreme law of the United States — created by our Founding Fathers on September 17, 1787.
This monumental document bestows our rights and freedoms and provides the framework for our government — both federal and state — and the relationship between the two.  It incorporates pivotal concepts of separation of power and checks and balances to ensure that no one branch of government becomes too powerful over another.  It has been amended twenty-seven times since 1789 and continues to be interpreted and challenged 225 years later.  That’s something to celebrate!
Originally recognized as “I Am an American Day”, in 1953 Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a resolution to observe “Citizenship Day” on the actual day the Constitution was signed – September 17^th.  Constitution Day became an official holiday alongside Citizenship Day in 2004 when legislation introduced by Senator Robert Byrd passed through Congress.  Since 2005, all schools receiving federal funds are mandated to teach about the Constitution on September 17^th.
I can’t recall baking cupcakes for my children’s school’s Constitution Day party nor have I ever been invited to a Constitution Day barbeque.  So, how does one celebrate a holiday that doesn’t lend itself to balloons, streamers, and decorations?  We can make it a priority to teach and learn something new about this document and talk about it with our children, other family members, co-workers and friends.
Last year, ACLU of Colorado volunteers went into middle school, high school, and college classes to teach about the Constitution.  We will be doing the same this year but in addition, we would like to share with you resources on our website that you can use to learn and teach about the Constitution. You can take the ACLU of Colorado’s Constitution Word Search – a fun way to test your knowledge and learn some basic Constitutional facts.  Please also take a moment to sign our petition to President Obama to make Constitution Day an official federal holiday.
So, if you are a teacher, a parent, or a civic-minded citizen, please take a moment today to recognize and celebrate the Constitution and the rights and freedoms that it bestows.  We’ll keep fighting every day to ensure those rights are protected and extended to all people in Colorado.