Teller County Sheriff’s Office responds to appeals court ruling on ICE agreement

UPDATE: THURSDAY 7/18/2024 12:00 p.m.

(TELLER COUNTY, Colo.) — Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said in a press conference that the current Colorado state legislature is hindering law enforcement’s ability to keep communities safe. Sheriff Mikesell said that he continues to believe the 287(g) jail program had an impact on the community.

Watch a full recording of the press conference with Sheriff Mikesell in the video player above.

THURSDAY 7/18/2024 10:10 a.m.

On Thursday, July 18 the Teller County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. about the recent Colorado appeals court ruling on its agreement with the federal government’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain suspected illegal immigrants.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), under the “287(g) agreement,” TCSO could hold a person suspected of civil immigration violation in jail past their release date and turn them over to ICE. The ACLU argued that this was against the Colorado Constitution and the law.

In 2019 the sheriff of TCSO, Jason Mikesell, defended the agreement saying the program is not about immigrants but about lawbreakers, and cited an incident where an undocumented man was released from the Teller County Jail and was later involved in a hit-and-run crash.

The ACLU, representing five Teller County taxpayers, filed the lawsuit in 2019, shortly after Colorado enacted a law that forbids state and local law enforcement officers from arresting and detaining persons based on ICE documents that are not signed by a judge. On July 3, 2024, the Colorado Court of Appeals said that Sheriff Mikesell cannot hold immigrants in jail based on requests from ICE.

FOX21 will be at the press conference and will have it live in the video player above.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado.