Douglas County filed swimsuit Monday towards the state of Colorado, alleging that two legal guidelines prohibiting native governments from cooperating with the federal authorities on immigration enforcement violate the state structure.
The lawsuit, which different conservative counties are contemplating becoming a member of, takes intention at legal guidelines handed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Jared Polis in recent times. The swimsuit names Polis as a defendant and claims that state legal guidelines from 2019 and 2023 trample on native governments’ means to cooperate or contract “with each other or with the federal government of america,” as assured by the Colorado Structure’s Article 14.
“The state has prohibited native governments from cooperating with the federal authorities and we want the flexibility to cooperate again once more,” county legal professional Jeff Garcia advised The Denver Submit.
The grievance, filed in Denver District Courtroom, additionally alleges that the laws violates the “distribution of powers” provision within the state structure. One of many legal guidelines prohibits probation officers from sharing private details about a person with federal immigration authorities — an illegal intrusion, the lawsuit states, by the legislature into judicial department issues.
It’s the most recent transfer by the prosperous metro Denver county that’s been on the vanguard of pushing again on Colorado’s immigrant-friendly method to managing the continuing border disaster. Close by, Denver has seen almost 41,000 migrants — a lot of them from Venezuela — arrive since late 2022.
Earlier this month, the Douglas County commissioners handed an ordinance prohibiting industrial automobiles from dropping off folks within the county unannounced — a response to the busloads of migrants which have rolled into Denver from U.S. cities close to the southern border for greater than a yr.
“In Douglas County, we lead with compassion however we now have to prioritize those that got here right here legally,” Commissioner Abe Laydon stated. “We’re very protecting of our residents and our high quality of life.”
Denver has spent almost $70 million supporting the brand new arrivals, prompting officers to scale back hours at recreation facilities and Division of Motor Automobiles places of work for a number of months this yr as a budget-saving measure. These reductions are anticipated to be reversed later this spring and summer time, Mayor Mike Johnston introduced final week, after the town adjusted funds forecasts for what it is going to price to help migrants.
Douglas County’s lawsuit particularly targets Home Invoice 19-1124, which prohibited police and sheriff deputies from holding undocumented immigrants solely in response to detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It additionally takes intention at Home Invoice 23-1100, which additional prevents state and native governments from coming into or renewing contracts with federal immigration authorities to detain folks suspected of civil immigration violations.
Raquel Lane-Arellano, communications supervisor for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, advised The Submit final month that immigrant advocates are “alarmed and anxious” by how some communities, like Douglas County, are approaching the migrant problem.
“When regulation enforcement works with ICE, it creates quite a lot of concern in our immigrant communities,” she stated. “It sends a chilling message to all immigrants in our neighborhood.”
The county introduced its intention to sue the state in March. Officers deliberate maintain a press convention at 10 a.m. Monday in Fortress Rock to formally announce the lawsuit.
Garcia, the county legal professional, stated eight Colorado counties have reached out to Douglas County to specific curiosity in how the county goes about difficult state regulation on immigration coverage. Final week, The Gazette reported that the Board of El Paso County Commissioners unanimously voted to hitch Douglas County in its lawsuit, asserting that they aimed to maintain the neighborhood protected, “particularly from undocumented immigrants who commit violent crimes.”
As Douglas County’s first Latino commissioner, Laydon stated he acknowledges “the plight of individuals in search of asylum.” However the county’s accountability, he stated, is to “our residents who’re already right here legally.”
“If we bankrupt our state on the backs of those that are right here legally, we create a scenario that’s untenable for everybody, together with immigrants,” he stated.
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