With the arrival of President Donald Trump back in the White House on Monday and the signing of several executive orders on immigration enforcement, Durango and La Plata County law enforcement leaders are emphasizing the difference in their jobs from those of federal authorities charged with pursuing deportation cases.
Neither La Plata County nor the city of Durango has any sort of “sanctuary” status – a self-imposed designation that some local governments have pursued to signal resistance to federal deportation efforts.
However, both La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith and Durango Police Chief Brice Current say that enforcement of immigration laws – a federal matter – is not, in nearly all circumstances, a part of their job.
“It’s not a state issue, and our state, thus, has said we as local officers can’t participate,” Smith said.
He was referencing a law that took effect just over a year ago saying local governments may not house inmates on behalf of federal immigration authorities.
Smith and Current have both conducted outreach recently to try to encourage people who lack permanent legal status or live in mixed-status homes to view their agencies as public safety resources, rather than threats.
“If a woman is experiencing domestic violence, we don’t want her to not call us and continue to be abused because she is worried about being deported,” Smith said.
Someone who is pulled over for a traffic violation by a police officer would likely get a ticket, Current said, and would “never be asked about their (immigration) status.” Even someone without a driver’s license would be cited accordingly but not taken to jail.
Enrique Orozco, co-executive director of Compañeros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center, noted that under Colorado law, an undocumented immigrant cannot be arrested at, or on the way to or from a courthouse.
Orozco said he generally trusts Current and Smith at their words, although he encourages undocumented immigrants to proceed with a morsel of caution.
One undocumented immigrant, who spoke to The Durango Herald on the condition of anonymity, said she generally trusts the police.
“If I need help, I would always ask for it,” she said.
Another said she was generally trusting of local law enforcement, although would evaluate a situation thoroughly to determine if authorities were necessary before calling.
By receiving a traffic citation or reporting a crime, undocumented immigrants are unlikely to end up on federal law enforcement’s radar.
An arrest that lands someone in jail could lead to federal involvement, although the county jail’s ability to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is limited.
Smith canceled his contract with ICE before that law took effect, he said, although he does still have a contract with the U.S. Marshals Service to hold inmates facing federal criminal charges.
Until several years ago, the jail would entertain requests from ICE to notify the federal agency when specific inmates were released. Smith said his staff members have been directed not to proactively contact the agency after several problematic incidents.
In one case, Smith said, ICE officers showed up too late. They called their target from the jail and impersonated La Plata County Sheriff’s deputies to ask the target to return. The conduct was “completely inappropriate,” Smith said.
Although ICE has pledged to prioritize the deportation of undocumented immigrants with serious criminal convictions, Smith said that has not always been his experience when working with the agency.
“It became kind of untenable for us,” he said.
Now, jail staff members do not hold inmates who are eligible for release based on a civil immigration case alone (the matter is more complicated when criminal charges are involved).
“We are not doing notifications on immigration-status-only at this time,” Smith said.
However, the roster of inmates is public and ICE may (like any other member of the public) call and ask if a specific inmate is scheduled for release.
Current and Smith will both cooperate with federal partners as required by law, they say. But cooperation and active participation are two different things, and Current said that enforcing immigration law is not a part of their job, and would be detrimental to the department’s work.
“Everything we do is fueled by public trust, and we need that trust to be successful in keeping everybody safe,” he said.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
