DENVER — Under Colorado law, local law enforcement agencies are limited in their interactions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). So, even under President Donald Trump's administration, agencies are not expecting policies to change when it comes to notifying ICE of immigrants in their custody.
ICE can submit a detainer to Colorado sheriff's offices if a noncitizen inmate is in custody in a Colorado jail. A detainer is a request for the sheriff's office to either notify them of the inmate's release or hold the inmate for up to an additional 48 hours.
Denver7 Investigates reached out to several sheriff's offices in the Denver metro area to ask about their policies regarding detainers. All of them said they do not hold inmates for the additional 48 hours. However, spokespersons for the departments said they will notify ICE when the inmates are being released.
The Denver Sheriff's Department (DSD) notifies ICE ahead of an inmate's release when it receives a request from ICE. The department said it notifies ICE via fax, which is ICE's requirement, according to a DSD spokesperson.
In 2024, DSD notified ICE 84 times ahead of an inmate's release. For context, DSD books 70 inmates per day on average.
Other Colorado counties do things differently.
In both Jefferson and Douglas counties, the sheriff's offices notify ICE any time a foreign-born inmate is booked into the jail. Then, upon ICE's request, the sheriff's offices will notify the federal agency when an inmate is beginning the release process.
In all of these cases, it is up to ICE to show up and take the individual into federal custody after they have been released from a local agency's custody.
Through Dec. 11, 2024, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office notified ICE 731 times when inmates were booked and 186 times ahead of inmates being released.
Other counties, like Arapahoe and Adam's counties, do not keep track of how many times they notify ICE before an inmate is released.
The Adam's County Sheriff's Office noted, "An ICE Detainer is not recognized by Colorado law as a legal order to hold an individual."
Douglas County officials have been vocal in recent months about their support for President Donald Trump's immigration policies. When Dever7 Investigates asked if that is still the case following the series of executive orders the president signed in his first 24 hours in office, Commissioner Abe Laydon responded, "We're excited."
"We'll see what comes. At the end of the day, we want to support legal immigrants that have, again, went through the proper channels to be in the state of Colorado and continue to honor that," Laydon continued.
Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said his agency will abide by Colorado law but will also support ICE in whatever ways possible. When asked if local policies could change under the new administration, Sheriff Weekly said, "I think it's possible that it changes to get some uniformity."
"Every county, every municipality has their own legal counsel that is giving their law enforcement advice. And so, you know, each CEO is going to make their decision," Weekly said.
Denver7 Investigates reached out to other local agencies requesting the number of times they notified ICE before an inmate's release, but some required public records requests to be filed, which can typically take days to get back.
