ICE picking up apparent undocumented immigrants when being released from county jail

Citizen advocates taking action and point finger at sheriff…

[  By Mark Reaman  ]

Conflicts between Gunnison Valley citizens and officers from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have spiked in the past couple weeks. The encounters have taken place at the Gunnison County Sheriff’s jail facility in Gunnison and videos show aggressive give-and-take between citizens and ICE agents that occur as the agents pick up apparent undocumented people as they are being released from the county jail.

A group of citizens advocating for undocumented people living in the Gunnison Valley has started showing up when such people are being released from the jail. At the same time, ICE agents are waiting at the jail for undocumented people to leave the facility and then they immediately pick them up, handcuff them and put them in chains, put them in what look like unmarked government vehicles and apparently transport them to ICE facilities in Aurora or Alamosa.

Two of the encounters have been recorded and have been posted online on social media. The advocates aggressively confront the ICE agents while using cell phones to document the event. They demand the names of the agents and press them to see an arrest warrant. The ICE agents do not respond to those demands.

In the online video, as the undocumented person is led from the county jail to the federal vehicle, the situation escalates into swearing and even apparent physical jostling.

Ian Wrisley, pastor of the Gunnison Congregational Church, and Kelly Jo Clark, a pastor at Crested Butte’s Union Congregational Church, are helping to facilitate the action at the county jail when undocumented people are released and immediately picked up by ICE. They are “part of an action group made up of concerned citizens who are tired of the sheriff choosing to endanger our community.” Wrisley said many participants have taken training offered by Colorado Rapid Response Network (CORRN), as well as other training for resisting unjust police activities.

“This is an unjust situation,” emphasized Wrisley. “ICE has always been a problematic organization, and the past year-and-a-half has seen an increase in funding, personnel and motivation. But the problem with ICE is not Trump exclusively. We know about ICE presence in the county and release times from the jail the same way sheriff Murdie claims ICE knows about undocumented people in the jail: through publicly available information.”

Wrisley said he does not know for sure how many people have walked into the ICE situation after being released from the county jail. He has heard as many as 30.

Gunnison County sheriff Adam Murdie said his office does make ICE aware when booking someone not born in the United States for a crime committed in Gunnison County. ICE is also made aware when that person is being released from jail either by finishing their jail sentence or posting bond. But Murdie was clear they do not help the federal agency do random checks or roundups.

“I have had a discussion with ICE officials from Alamosa and Grand Junction. They were advised if they come to Gunnison and do something illegal, they will be arrested like anyone else. I also advised them that if they come to Gunnison and anyone throws rocks, hits them or interferes physically with them, that person will be arrested,” Murdie said. “We do not and will not participate in any ICE roundups. We do cooperate with ICE when it comes to individuals who submit themselves to the criminal justice system by committing a crime in Gunnison County. Laws govern the acts of the Sheriff and everyone that wears a badge. We will continue to cooperate within the laws of the State of Colorado with all our federal partners until they place us in a position where we cannot.”

Murdie said his deputies do not coordinate tactics with ICE officers. “As you will see in our policy, we do notify ICE of people who are not born in the U.S. We also notify ICE of an approximate time when they will be released. It is up to them to do their own investigation as to if they are here illegally or legally.”

Murdie said it is part of the overall booking process to ask everyone that comes in for their place of birth. He said this question is on the booking paperwork. “We do not know if someone is illegally in the country or if they are here legally. We notify ICE of people that were not born in the United States, names and charges, that is it,” he clarified. “Most people do not know it, but this process has been done this way for many, many years. It has only come to light as the agendas have changed for the policy makers in the federal government.”

Murdie emphasized it is important that people know that when someone is arrested, they are also fingerprinted. He explained that their prints go to all federal law enforcement agencies including ICE. Murdie said he has been informed by ICE that they do not need dates-of-birth or other identifying information as the prints would give ICE what they need to determine if they want to arrest someone at the sheriff’s office.

“We release people out the front door,” Murdie continued. “We do not walk them to ICE. We do not even have them cuffed once they are free to leave the jail. They are free to leave the jail,” he said. “ICE can make an arrest anywhere that is open to the public. They cannot come into the jail itself or the sally port to do an official transfer of custody as we do not do that for them.”

The county sheriff’s office official policy for dealing with “immigration inquiries” states that county law enforcement won’t detain an undocumented person unless there is a warrant issued by a judge. “Deputies shall not, except as required by state or federal law; provide personal identifying information that is not publicly available to federal immigration officials for the purposes of federal civil immigration enforcement…or inquire into or request information or documents to determine a person’s immigration status…”

Murdie said his office does not know how many times ICE has been at the county jail to implement an immigration arrest. He explained that if someone posts bond, his deputies must release them from jail within six hours. In one case involving ICE, the man was immediately arrested upon being released and the person who posted bond did not get the bond money back. “We did have someone who bonded and was picked up by ICE. The person who placed the bond contacted us and we went to the judge to assist in getting their money back,” he said.

As for letting the family and friends of the person detained by ICE know of the situation, Murdie said they don’t do that. “We do not do any follow-up,” he said. “We do not always know if someone is picked up. As I stated, we do not track when ICE is here and when they are not.”

Wrisley said he is disappointed in the actions of the Gunnison County Sheriff’s office. “Our goal is that our local officials — elected, law enforcement officers and bureaucrats — stop proactively interacting with ICE. This includes the calls they make to ICE when an undocumented person is being released, as well as holding people who have bonded out. They’re doing both of these, and we have verbal and video demonstrations of it,” explained Wrisley.