Sheriff vows to not coordinate with ICE in county

“This is democracy working”

by Katherine Nettles

In an emotionally charged meeting this week, two major bodies of elected officials gathered to listen to public outcry regarding their policies around coordinating with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain Gunnison County residents who have been released from the county jail. Sheriff Adam Murdie proclaimed afterward that he would no longer cooperate with ICE efforts to detain or deport locals. The question remains how the federal entity will respond, and if it will prompt more intrusive ICE activity in Gunnison County.

Over the past 18 months more than 60 Gunnison County residents have allegedly been removed from the community and in some cases been deported. More than 60 demonstrators gathered at the Gunnison County Courthouse on Tuesday morning, August 4, carrying protest signs, then congregated in the commissioners’ room to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting.

Joe Burgess spoke first, reading a document he had prepared with eight recommended action steps for commissioners. He requested that officials cease cooperating with ICE, launch an investigation into each detainment; share the findings with the public, offer translations into Spanish and issue a public apology to the community for the past 18 months.

Laurie Gery suggested that if county officials were not willing to comply, they should declare the county to not be a welcoming community, nor bound to follow the U.S. Constitution or follow the due process of law. Gery also said she personally had supported every elected official in the room. “I have campaigned for them, I have placed signs in my yard,” she said, but noted that she now felt complicit in the actions those officials have supported or undertaken.

Ever Morrow said immigrations enforcement averages about one trip per week to Gunnison County to maintain their quota of detainees. Morrow said the sheriff’s department has callously prioritized relationships to federal law enforcement and called for removing Flock cameras (license plate scanners) from the community.

Salif Mahamane said the Trump administration is using ICE to test how much it can terrorize American communities without resistance. “And Gunnison County officials, especially the sheriff’s office, have invited them right into our peaceful valley.” He asked if ICE detention centers are consistent with the conditions and treatment in Gunnison County jails, and if not, how they could stomach sending members of the community to endure such conditions.

“There is no humanity in this. There is no honor in this and there is no courage in this. This is shameful conduct from the highest, most visible law enforcement in Gunnison County,” he concluded.

“We need to know that officers are held to the highest standards, will uphold the rule of law and will protect the people of Gunnison,” said Kate Clark. “When due process is denied to any one of us, it is not guaranteed to any of us.”

Ren Hoskin said she has spent the night in the sheriff’s department parking lot because her dear friend was about to be taken by ICE after living here for 35 years. She said he fled horror in his home country, has raised two children in the Crested Butte community, paid his taxes and was arrested during a routine traffic stop. “When immigrants fear that any contact with local government will end in deportation they stop reporting crimes, they stop seeking medical care, they stop showing up to work, they stop taking their kids to school and that makes our community less safe,” she said. She noted counties across Colorado have successfully chosen not to share information with ICE.

“I’m not asking you to solve immigration policy; I’m asking you to decide what kind of county we are,” said Hoskin. “Whether people who pick our crops, clean our rooms, cook our food and raise their children alongside our own children can trust that their local government is on their side.”

John Czernicki said he has lost two friends in town to ICE. “An attack on any of our civil rights is an attack on all of us,” he said.

“We can’t affect much that happens at the federal level, but we can do what we can here and that’s what I expect of you,” said Nancy Gruber-Meier.

Laura Guccione said she believes that any sheriff’s deputies working to help ICE are going against their true values.

Ian Wrisley emphasized there is no obligation for the sheriff to cooperate with ICE and invited everyone to join a vigil for ICE detainees at IIOF Park in Gunnison on Friday, August 7 at 5 p.m. “to contemplate our own complicity in all this…One person isn’t one person; they are a network of relationships that spread out into the community,” he said.

Charles Doan said he didn’t agree with broad condemnation of ICE or law enforcement, but that there should be a buffer between ICE and those released from jail.

Danica Ramgoolam said her own husband was once an undocumened immigrant and is now a naturalized citizen who remains afraid to speak publicly against ICE for fear of retribution.

Marketa Zubkova said as an immigrant, she was terrified to be there. She also shared a story from another local resident whose husband was taken by ICE, leaving her and her children behind. She was too afraid to report an intruder in her home a week later. “Are we still a welcoming community?” asked Zubkova. “If not, how can we be again?”

After a short break, the sheriff’s office offered their input.

Less ICE

Sheriff Murdie said he has struggled with the position he and his department have been put in over reporting undocumented immigrants to ICE.

“I am a human being, just like the rest of you in the room,” he said. One audience member noted that he was in uniform which made him different.

“That’s absolutely right, that’s my job,” said Murdie. “That’s the job that 6,000 people in this community voted for. And I’m listening to everyone in this room.”

Murdie vowed, “We’re done dealing with ICE. You guys talked me into it. I’m done dealing with them. But I’m so afraid of what’s going to happen when they find out that we’re not allowing them to come do their job, that they’re going to come into this community and just run rampant like they do everywhere else,” he said. “This is the stance we’re going to take and we’re moving forward. And hopefully, hopefully, we don’t get put in a position that we don’t like.”

When asked what actions Murdie worried ICE might take, Murdie responded that they could start pulling people off the streets. Several people responded that has already happened.

Undersheriff Josh Ashe reiterated that the sheriff’s department will not deal with ICE. He also stated, “We have not done anything that was not legally in our bounds to do. I understand that everybody was upset that we had made the notifications to ICE that were legally acceptable to do. But the way we saw it was that being law enforcement for public safety, that was for folks who had been arrested and who had come to jail…”

Ashe said his office’s actions did not feel like the same atrocities happening across the nation. “This is a tough job that weighs a lot of different responsibilities,” he said and asked that people not make assumptions about the members of his department.

Commissioners weighed in last, condemning ICE’s actions. Liz Smith expressed gratitude for the courage of the speakers, and said she understands that the sheriff’s department is in a difficult position trying to navigate forces that they cannot control.

She acknowledged, “The uniform is complicated for some people, and also they do important work.” She said she stands with the sentiments she heard. “There is no one I know in this world that I would wish to end up in an ICE center. It is inhumane,” she said.

Commissioner Jonathan Houck thanked people for reaching out to the sheriff’s office. He noted that people in the valley are often isolated from the rest of the world, but in this case, “We’re not immune from what’s going on with people.” He emphasized that the sheriff’s department was making decisions grounded in community.

“Adam was born and raised here. His dad was sheriff here for more than 20 years,” said Houck. “He’s no stranger to this community and its values.”

Houck also noted, “There are people in this community who are okay with the level of deportations happening in this country,” and emphasized that people can simultaneously be angry and stay civil.

Commissioner Laura Puckett Daniels said the conundrum Murdie had articulated is not knowing what will make people safest.

“This is democracy working—this country was not founded on everybody agreeing,” she added.

She urged that communication continue between community members and officials.

“This is not the last step in the process,” she said. “This needs to be the first step.”