Pueblo nonprofit celebrates Polis signing bill restricting immigration detention agreements

Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill earlier this week that El Movimiento Sigue, a Pueblo social justice nonprofit, anticipated he might veto.

The bill, which was signed by Polis on Tuesday, prevents state and local governments from entering or renewing agreements to detain people at immigration detention facilities owned or managed by private entities. It becomes effective Jan. 1, 2024.

The bill also prohibits state and local entities from conducting similar actions to solely detain people suspected of violating civil immigration policy or selling government-owned property to establish a privately managed or owned immigration detention facility. They also can’t offer payment to construct one or receive payment from a private entity operating that type of facility.

El Movimiento Sigue late last month staged a protest outside of the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation office, where Polis was signing another bill, after its members heard rumors Polis might veto the bill.

Denise Torrez, board president for El Movimiento Sigue, said the nonprofit plans to celebrate the signing during its monthly meeting next week. She said the group pushed for Polis to sign the bill because it aligns with its advocacy efforts to reallocate law enforcement resources toward community support services rather than detention.

“We don’t believe local law enforcement resources should be used to support this broken immigration system, especially because a lot of times, the people who are being detained are detained for a civil matter, not a criminal matter,” Torrez said.

Polis, in a statement released Tuesday evening, reiterated his stance that Colorado should not be a sanctuary state and that the bill “merely prohibits local governments and the state from contracting directly with ICE for civil immigration enforcement.”

More: Pueblo group rallies behind bill seeking to restrict Colorado, local contracts with ICE

Polis in the statement said that the bill doesn’t prevent ICE from enforcing federal immigration law, nor impact ICE's ability to detain people who violate that law, and that local governments can still cooperate with ICE on “enforcement actions.”

ICE can also continue to open or operate detention facilities in Colorado or contract with a private entity to do so, Polis said.

According to some of the bill’s language, local governments can continue to provide health and safety resources to people who are detained for immigration purposes and sanitation services to immigration detention facilities.

Polis in his statement also said it’s his hope that the federal government views his signing of this bill as a “manifestation of our frustration in Colorado with our broken immigration system” and that it pushes them to take responsibility on the issue.

“I am committed to working with and continuing to call on Congress and the federal government to finally take action on comprehensive immigration reform,” Polis said. “State and local governments simply cannot solve our nation’s immigration crisis.”

Polis also mentioned that he has concerns the bill will cause “financial hardship” for Teller County, which has an intergovernmental service agreement with ICE, but that he would work with officials in that county to address any potential negative financial impact it may face from the bill.

Moffat County also has an IGSA with ICE, and there is an ICE detention facility in Aurora run by the GEO Group that would not be affected by the bill.

Chieftain reporter Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @josuepwrites.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Bill restricting immigration detention agreements signed by Polis