Colorado bill SB20-83 prohibits ICE from making arrests at courthouses across Colorado. It also protects people while they are going to and from court.
But according to Enrique Orozco-Perez, the executive director of Compañeros Immigrant Resource Center in the Four Corners, the law was potentially violated in Durango last fall.
“We had two community members who went to court as they were told to do,” Orozco-Perez said. “They went to court, and then when they were leaving, ICE followed them for a couple of blocks, and then detained them right near the Garage.”
The La Plata County Courthouse in Durango is combined. This means it processes not only municipal and state cases, but federal cases, too, and SB20-83 doesn’t apply to federal courthouses. Advocates are seeing a similar trend at other combined courthouses across the state.
“I know, for example, in Glenwood Springs, we saw something very similar, where somebody was detained inside the courthouse building, but it's technically a combined courthouse similar to what Durango is seeing,” said Nayda Benitez, director of organizing at the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.
CIRC supported the bill when it was first introduced in 2020. Benitez said the law was intended to create a better functioning justice system across the state.
“SB 2083 is really only applicable to arrests happening inside and very close to right outside a county, municipal, or state courthouse,” she said. “SB 283 does not apply to federal courthouses.”
However, ICE agents can still enter courthouses. This leads advocates like Orozco Perez with Compañeros to believe that ICE is targeting Spanish and Latin American names on the docket and accessing their information.
“So we think that they're exploiting this loophole in our legal, state legal system to monitor our members, especially members that are on the docket with non-Anglo last names,” Orozco-Perez said.
Beatriz Garcia Waddell is the Western Slope organizer for CIRC. She's also seeing immigrants being detained several days after a court appearance.
“There are a few cases from this area, people from Pagosa, Montezuma, Durango, that has been detained after a few days after court,” Garcia Waddell said. “ICE gets this information from what the court publishes, investigates the person, finds their address, and arrests that person after a few days of having that court (date).”
She said a woman in Montezuma County who was the victim of a car accident later had her name appear on a court docket.
“She was planning to go to the hospital after the accident, and she got detained,” Garcia Waddell said. “So we know this is not for people who are charged with civil violations or criminal charges, but because they have been a victim of a crime.”
Advocates fear this will prevent immigrant victims from reporting crimes due to fear of detention or deportation.
“There is no accountability of the federal government for what it is doing in our communities in Colorado,” Garcia Waddell said.
Brithany Gutierrez, the docuteam coordinator at CIRC and the Colorado Rapid Response, says her team documents immigration arrests across the state. They have seen an uptick in the past few months of ICE detaining people a few days after their court appointments or right after they leave the courthouse.
“What I cannot test too is that it's something that I'm seeing almost every day,” Gutierrez said.
She added that she’s seeing it almost everywhere in Colorado.
“It's not one specific area that they're targeting,” Gutierrez said. “I have seen it at different courthouses in different cities throughout the state. It's sad because people are now scared to go to court for a simple traffic violation. People are calling me because there is that fear now.”
Because of these tactics, CIRC is recommending that people request virtual court appointments if possible. CIRC also helps lead volunteers across the state to accompany individuals during their court appointments who request it.
“We're not legal advocates; we don't give legal advice,” said M, a volunteer coordinator in La Plata County.
When someone reaches out with a request for court accompaniment, two to four people will show up to support the community member.
“We're not here to interfere in the court proceedings or interfere if ICE shows up. But we are here to be witnesses and let people know that they have our support. And also to let ICE know that we're watching," said M.
People requesting accompaniment to court, or volunteers interested in participating in the program, can contact the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition or Compañeros Immigrant Resource Center.
The La Plata County Sheriff and Sixth Judicial District Attorney Sean Murray declined to comment for this story.