Each year, the ACLU of Colorado gets scores of applications from talented students wanting to work as legal interns, media interns and fellows over the summer in our affilliate office in Denver. This year, we've selected a particularly talented and energetic group of future legal eagles and civil rights activists. Meet our summer 2012 interns and fellows:

Elliot Mamet, Colorado College Public Interest Fellow

Elliot will be entering his sophomore year at Colorado College, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he is majoring in political science. At CC, Elliot is the Constitutional Vice President for student government and is an executive committee member of Honor Council. He is a peer writing tutor at the writing center, a residential advisor, and will begin as an admissions tour guide in the fall. Elliot is an avid debater and the 2011 NFL national champion in congressional debate. A graduate of Denver East High School, Elliot is interested in public interest law and civil rights law and hopes to attend law school. For fun, Elliot loves to play golf and tennis and explore different parts of Denver.

Rachel Milos, Legal Intern

Rachel Milos will be entering her 3L year at DePaul University College of Law, in Chicago, Illinois. At DePaul, Rachel has published an article for DePaul’s Journal for Social Justice and works as both a research assistant and a teaching assistant. A native of Elmhurst, IL, Rachel received a B.A. in French Literature and Language, and a Masters in Education and Social Policy, both from Northwestern University. Rachel was previously a program director at the Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation, and a classroom teacher who helped to start Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts in Thornton, Colorado. Her dream job is working at a nonprofit on poverty law issues concerning women and children. Rachel loves to run, hike, ski, read, travel as much as possible, play Frisbee with her dog, and chase around her two-year-old nephew, Danny.

Lisa Napper, Media Intern

Lisa Napper is a rising senior at Rangeview High School, in Aurora, Colorado. Hailing from Dallas, Texas, Lisa moved to Colorado and has been raised in Aurora. Lisa is a part of the Galaxy Initiative, which focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics. She is president of the Diversity Student Alliance, a student trainer for No Place for Hate, and the secretary of M.E.S.A. Additionally, Lisa is involved in National Honor Society, Sisters Involved in the Community, and Advanced Performing Arts. Interested in a career in environmental engineering and public health, she is working at the ACLU this summer to gain experience in positive publicity directed at change. Lisa has a very busy summer ahead: she is taking a college class in mythology, and attending leadership conferences in Denver, Fort Collins, Bloomington Illinois, and Houston Texas.

Lisa Faye Petak, Legal Intern

Lisa Faye Petak will be entering her 2L year at the University of California, Irvine School of Law in Orange County, California. At UC Irvine, Lisa chairs of the Student Bar Association, directs The Vagina Monologues, serves on the Executive Board of the Women’s Law Society, and works as a research assistant. A Colorado native, Lisa grew up in Littleton before flitting eastward for a B.A. in Political Science/Literature at American University in Washington, DC, and then a M.A. in the Humanities from the University of Chicago. Previously Lisa worked as a reproductive rights counselor for the National Abortion Federation and as a research assistant for the New York Times. One goal of hers is to rid the world of sexism, racism, classism, and every other –ism as a civil rights litigator, preferably while fighting for reproductive choice and gender equality. For fun, you can find Lisa ice skating or curled up with the latest subversive contemporary fiction.

Marc Sallinger, Media Intern

Marc Sallinger is a rising senior at Mullen High School, in Denver, Colorado. A new media whiz, Marc is interested in all things journalism, and in particular, how organizations like the ACLU of Colorado use social media to affect change. He is editor of Mullen Media, Mullen’s online newspaper, and plays soccer competitively for Colorado Rush. Additionally, Marc is president of the National Honor Society at Mullen. Besides working at the ACLU this summer, Marc is writing for the Stapleton Front Porch Newspaper and interning in the campaign office of Congressman Ed Perlmutter. On top of that, he will be travelling to Spain with his family for July and stopping by the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Tanika Vigil, Legal Intern

Tanika Vigil will be entering her 2L year at Harvard Law School, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Tanika is the Project Director for the Harvard Immigration Project’s Bond Hearing Project that represents detained immigrants in their Immigration Court bond hearings. This fall, she will be starting work with the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, providing pro bono legal services to low income families. A Boulder native, Tanika received a B.A. from Amherst College. Previously, Tanika worked for an immigration attorney in Boulder, and worked for Amigos de las Americas in Boaco, Nicaragua. Her passion is for immigration law and the first amendment, and she’d love to work on issues that affect the immigrant community. Tanika loves to play soccer and travel. After completing her internship this summer, she will visit an Achuar tribe in Ecuador to learn about sustainability.

Rosalie Wilmot, Media Intern

Rosalie Wilmot just graduated from the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, with degrees in English and International Studies. Rosalie served as president of New Era Colorado’s DU chapter, working to engage young people in the political process. Additionally, Rosalie has served as a summer fellow on the Washington Bus. Her passion is for communicating complex issues to the public, and she hopes to land a career in international correspondence or public radio. One highlight of her pre-ACLU life was standing under Sipi Falls in Eastern Uganda. Besides working at the ACLU this summer, you can find Rosalie serving drinks as a barista at Dazbog Coffee.

By Marc Sallinger

DENVER -- Despite many setbacks, despite Colorado’s civil unions legislation being filibustered in the legislature, despite the fact that this legislation was killed in committee, this has still been a year of extraordinary change for LGBT rights. This year, like no other, the ACLU of Colorado will be walking with a renewed sense of purpose in the Coors Light Pridefest Denver parade June 17.

This year, you should be there, too.

There are so many reasons.

Just recently on May 8th, in a less than surprising conclusion, North Carolina voters passed a bill banning same-sex marriages and civil unions making North Carolina the last state in the South to outlaw gay marriage and the 30th state in the nation to do so.
Just one day after the North Carolina vote, in an unprecedented move amongst United States Presidents, Barack Obama declared his support for gay rights and same-sex marriage. Although polls taken shortly after the announcement showed a nearly equally divided country in support of and against the President’s move, for those who support full equality for all persons, Obama’s words were a momentous step in an arduous battle.

Although the path to equality runs through dips, hills, and often mountains, the end of the road would not be in sight without the support and activism of those who have the strength to stand up and speak. Kate Cohn, a former Falcon High School student, showed this strength in great fashion when she wore a shirt reading “Marriage is so Gay” to school. Cohn was wrongfully censored by the school and told she could not wear the shirt. The ACLU of Colorado wrote a letter to the school demanding that Kate be allowed to express herself and less than 24 hours later, Kate was allowed to wear her shirt to school and a small battle in the incessant war for equality was won.

Steve Marcantonio, a former Union Colony Prep student, also showed the strength needed to create change when he petitioned his school to start a Gay-Straight Alliance Club. When the Greely public charter school denied his petition, the ACLU of Colorado stepped in. Union Colony Prep now boasts a club to discuss issues such as sexual orientation, gender identity and bullying as well as an outlet for students to express themselves without the fear of retribution.

It’s for all these reasons that we are marching in the Pridefest Denver parade.

On June 17th, we will come together to show the world that we believe in full equality for all persons. The Denver Pridefest, held in Civic Center Park, will not only boast chanting, singing, dancing, and fun, but will also symbolize Colorado’s fighting strength.
You might kill our bill in the legislature, but you can’t kill our zeal for civil rights.

Join the ACLU of Colorado and thousands of others as we take to the streets of Denver in the Pridefest parade. Meet us at 9 AM, June 17, under the ACLU banner at E. High and 8th Street. Let the world hear your voice June 17th as we come together to support full equality for our friends, neighbors, and all who live in Colorado.

Sallinger, a senior at Mullen High School, is a summer Media Intern at the ACLU of Colorado

Virginia Macinas Urtusuastegui was in a horribly abusive long term relationship. During one particularly horrific incident, her partner tried to strangle her. Ms. Urtusuastegui had no choice except to call the police.

What happened next would baffle the minds of most reasonable persons. When the police arrived, it was Ms. Urtusuastegui who deputies from the Garfield County Sheriff's Department (GCSD arrested Ms. Urtusuastegui, detained her and turned her over to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement -- even though the law did not at the time compell him to do so.

ICE began deportation proceedings and Ms. Urtusuastegui faced certain deportation -- all because she, as a victim of domestic violence, dared to call the police an report a crime.
An investigation by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) revealed that the Garfield County Sheriff’s Department  has referred several victims of domestic violence to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, resulting in those individuals being placed in deportation proceedings because they chose to report acts of domestic violence to law enforcement.

In a letter dated May 2, 2012, the ACLU and the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CCADV) explained to Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario that such referrals were “out of step with Colorado law” and “created a strong and perverse disincentive for undocumented victims and witnesses of domestic violence to report the abuse to law enforcement.”

The ACLU and CCADV urged Sheriff Vallario to put an immediate end to this “harmful practice” and extended an offer to collaborate with the Sheriff to create a new policy that would encourage victims of domestic violence to contact the police when abuse occurs. In a brief response to the ACLU, GCSD has signaled its unwillingness to consider a policy change.

ACLU Staff Attorney Rebecca T. Wallace said: “When undocumented victims of domestic violence are referred to ICE as a result of reporting the abuse to law enforcement, the signal to the undocumented population is clear. If you call the police to report domestic violence, you may end up being deported.”

According to the ACLU letter, this message “has the predictable effect of deterring undocumented people from contacting the police to report crimes of domestic violence and diminishing the goodwill towards peace officers that undoubtedly GCSD wishes to foster with the substantial immigrant community in the Roaring Fork Valley.”

Ms. Wallace explained that “effective law enforcement requires that victims of crime, whether documented or undocumented, feel safe reporting crime to law enforcement. This is particularly true in conflicts involving domestic violence, which often occurs behind closed doors in the context of an intimate relationship.”

It is with this concern in mind that the Colorado legislature, even while passing a law requiring sheriffs to report certain arrestees to ICE, carved out an convicted. “The ACLU generally opposes programs such as SB-90 and Secure Communities, in part because they target people for referral to ICE at the time of arrest, sometimes capturing people who may never even be charged with a state crime, including crime victims, witnesses and convicted. “The ACLU generally opposes programs such as SB-90 and Secure Communities, in part because they target people for referral to ICE at the time of arrest, sometimes capturing people who may never even be charged with a state crime, including crime victims, witnesses and individuals subjected to unconstitutional arrests,” said ACLU Legal Director Mark Silverstein. “These programs not only deter people from accessing the criminal justice system, but also invite racial profiling by state and local law enforcement. That being said, SB-90’s domestic violence exception at least mitigates some of the possible negative effects of arrestee referrals.”

According to the letter, adherence to SB-90’s domestic violence exception is necessary to protect domestic violence victims, because it is not uncommon for victims of domestic violence to be mistakenly arrested on domestic violence charges. The letter explains that this can occur because, “abusers will report their victims to the police in an effort to further victimize them.” Additionally, self-defending victims are sometimes . . . caught up in dual arrests when law enforcement are unable to ascertain who the ‘predominant aggressor’ is.”
Ms. Wallace emphasized that “to avoid deterring domestic violence victims from reporting the abuse to law enforcement, it is essential that undocumented domestic violence arrestees not be reported to ICE until after conviction.” Yet, according to the letter, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Department automatically reports to ICE all domestic violence arrestees whom they suspect to be undocumented, without waiting to learn if the person is convicted. The ACLU interviewed and reviewed the records of undocumented women who were the victims of serious domestic violence, reported the crime to law enforcement, were arrested on domestic violence charges, and were booked into the Garfield County Jail. In each case, all charges against the victims were dismissed, yet – according to the letter – because GCSD employees automatically reported the victims to ICE at booking, the victims were placed in deportation proceedings.

“In talking to these victims, they clearly and reasonably felt re-victimized by being sent into ICE detention simply because they had interacted with the police about the abuse,” Ms. Wallace said. “Their experiences have a tremendous chilling effect on the large undocumented community in the Roaring Fork Valley and the state. The message being sent to this community is that if you are being abused, don’t call the police.”

According to Mr. Silverstein, “When GCSD chooses to automatically report domestic violence arrestees to ICE, it thwarts the will of the Colorado legislature, which through strong bi-partisan support, carved out an explicit protection for domestic violence victims to ensure that SB-90 would not deter them from reporting domestic abuse to law enforcement.” The letter posits that the ripple effect of this protection extends directly to abused children, because there is a strong co-occurrence of child abuse in homes plagued by domestic violence. Thus, often the call reporting domestic violence is law enforcement’s gateway into learning about and stopping child abuse.
“During the course of our investigation, we were gratified that several counties – when they learned why SB-90s domestic violence exception is essential to encouraging domestic violence reporting – were readily willing to change their policies to reflect the values of Coloradoans’,” said Ms. Wallace.

“Jefferson County, Mesa County, and Hinsdale County are just a few of those counties that were receptive to ACLU advocacy, and we commend them taking this step to ensure the undocumented community feels safe contacting the police to complain of domestic abuse. Negotiations with several other counties are ongoing. Given the receptivity of these counties, and the strong evidence that GCSD has referred domestic violence victims to ICE, we were surprised and dismayed that GCSD is unwilling to alter its policy.”