CRIPPLE CREEK — On January 29, 2025, the Teller County District Court entered final judgment in an ACLU of Colorado lawsuit challenging Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell’s immigration enforcement agreement—called a 287(g) agreement—with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Colorado Court of Appeals had earlier concluded that, notwithstanding the agreement with ICE, Sheriff Mikesell violated Colorado law by arresting people for civil immigration violations and holding them in jail when state law required their release. In a joint stipulation filed with the court, the parties agreed that the Sheriff’s unlawful detentions on ICE’s behalf will come to a permanent end.
In the parties’ stipulation, Sheriff Miksell acknowledged and agreed that his office has no authority to deny or delay the release of any individual detained in his jail on the basis of any ICE form. The parties also agreed to changes to documents governing the jail’s participation in the 287(g) agreement, including the agreement’s standard operating procedures, the jail’s custody manual, and other internal policies.
“Today marks an important victory in a years-long battle for immigrants’ rights in Colorado,” said Annie Kurtz, ACLU of Colorado Senior Staff Attorney. “This ruling is especially powerful today as a testament to the role state law can play as a bulwark of constitutional freedoms. As this case makes clear, Colorado need not participate in the federal government’s abusive practices.”
“The ACLU will continue to fight to ensure that Coloradans are protected from unlawful immigration enforcement actions, whether at the hands of the local, state, or federal government,” added ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Tim Macdonald.
In addition to Macdonald and Kurtz, the legal team included ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Emeritus Mark Silverstein and cooperating attorneys Stephen G. Masciocchi, Alexandria Pierce, and Hannah E. Armentrout of Holland & Hart LLP and Byeongsook Seo and Stephanie Kanan of Snell & Wilmer, LLP.
