Teller County Sheriff Mikesell prevails and preserves his 287(g) Agreement with ICE in ACLU lawsuit.
On January 29, 2025, the lawsuit filed by the ACLU against Sheriff Mikesell in 2019 to invalidate his 287(g) Agreement with ICE finally concluded and preserved the Sheriff’s authority to enter into the 287(g) Agreement with ICE. Based on the Court of Appeals ruling regarding the scope of HB 19-1124, C.R.S. § 24-76.6-102(2), the 287(g) Agreement has been modified to remove a Sheriff’s deputy’s power and authority to serve ICE arrest warrants on a person in the Teller County Jail, to serve warrants of removal, or to detain and transport arrested aliens to ICE-approved detention facilities.
Sheriff Mikesell is pleased that the Teller County District Court and the Colorado Court of Appeals recognized his authority to enter into this 287(g) Agreement with ICE. Sheriff Mikesell values his long-standing cooperative relationship with ICE as he fully believes that federal, state and local law enforcement agencies should work together to keep our communities safe. Sheriff Mikesell encourages other Colorado Sheriffs to consider similar agreements with ICE.
A “287(g) Agreement” is a written agreement between ICE and a state, or any political subdivision of a state, under which ICE trains and certifies local law enforcement officers, called Designated Immigration Officers (“DIOs”) to perform certain immigration enforcement functions under the supervision of an ICE officer. Sheriff Mikesell has been a party to a 287(g) Agreement with ICE since 2019. Teller County’s 287(g) Agreement with ICE is a Jail Enforcement Model, so all of these activities take place in the Teller County Jail and involve persons who have been arrested on state or local criminal offenses.
Teller County DIOs have the following powers or authorities under the 287(g) Agreement with ICE:
- to interrogate any person believed to be an alien as to his or her right to be or remain in the United States (INA § 287(a)(1) and 8 C.F.R. § 287.5(a)(1)), and to process for immigration violations any removable alien or those aliens who have been arrested for violating a Federal, State, or local offense;
- to administer oaths and to take and consider evidence (INA§ 287(b) and 8 C.F.R. § 287.5(a)(2)), to complete required criminal alien processing, including fingerprinting, photographing, and interviewing of aliens, as well as the preparation of affidavits and the taking of sworn statements for ICE supervisory review;
- to prepare charging documents (INA Section 239, 8 C.F.R. 239.1; INA Section 238, 8 C.F.R 238.1; INA Section 241 (a)(5), 8 C.F.R 241.8; INA Section 235(b)(1), 8 C.F.R. 235.3) including the preparation of a Notice to Appear application or other charging document, as appropriate, for the signature of an ICE officer for aliens in categories established by ICE supervisors; and
- to issue immigration detainers (8 U.S.C. § 1226 and 1357, and 8 C.F.R. § 287.7), and I-213, Record of Deportable/Inadmissible Alien, for processing aliens in categories established by ICE supervisors.
Teller County DIOs have the following supervisory and administrative responsibilities under the 287(g) Agreement include:
- notifying ICE of any immigration detainer issued under the authority as soon as possible, but no longer than approximately 24 hours;
- ensuring proper record checks have been completed; and
- reporting all encounters with asserted or suspected claims of U.S. citizenship to ICE immediately, but generally within one hour of the claim.
Jason Mikesell, Sheriff, Teller County
