By Pat Hill | Pikes Peak Courier via Denver Gazette
Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell is so concerned about the effects of Colorado Senate Bill #276 he appealed in a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week.
The bill, if signed by Gov. Jared Polis, prohibits law enforcement from sharing information with the federal government about illegal immigrants who have committed crimes.
At issue is the bill’s interference with Mikesell’s 287(g) agreement with ICE.
The only sheriff in Colorado to have signed the agreement, Mikesell was sued over the issue by the ACLU in 2019. After a series of wins, losses and appeals by both parties, in February, Mikesell retained his ability to work with ICE to detain illegal immigrants who commit crimes.
However, if the governor does sign the bill, law enforcement in Teller County will change.
“This will harm our 287 (g) program,” Mikesell said.
Further, the issue is complicated because all U.S. federal law enforcement agencies are now part of ICE, including the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration. But Mikesell’s biggest beef with the bill is the threat of his deputies facing a $50,000 fine if any of the officers provide information to ICE.
“My deputies just make over that, so how do you threaten somebody with their livelihood, their families, their homes, in the effort to stop us from following federal law?” he said.
In a letter to ICE, Mikesell writes that “creating a bar to coordination and information sharing between local and federal law enforcement agencies, the state government has placed the safety and security of criminals over that of our residents.”
The letter is intended to alert ICE to issues facing Colorado law enforcement.
“It’s unfortunate to me that you have a governor – and the attorney general’s office is not defining or identifying anything but staying quiet and allowing this to occur,” Mikesell said. “And the state goes out-of-control with crime.”