By Olivia Prentzel | The Colorado Sun
A Colorado sheriff’s practice of holding undocumented immigrants in jail through an agreement with federal immigration authorities violates state law, the Colorado Court of Appeals found Wednesday, reversing a district judge’s ruling.
The decision is the latest turn in a yearslong battle between Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell and the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued him on behalf of five taxpayers arguing that Colorado law forbids the sheriff’s office from detaining people accuse of state crimes who are otherwise eligible for release and then turning them over to ICE officers.
The case will return to lower court, the ACLU said Wednesday.
Through the county’s agreement with federal immigration authorities, called a 287(g) agreement, the sheriff’s office held people living in the country illegally in jail after they posted bond.