El Paso County joins immigration lawsuit
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal is weighing in on the county commissioner’s recent decision to move forward with plans to sue the state of Colorado over current immigration laws.
On Tuesday, April 9, El Paso County commissioners voted unanimously to support the Douglas County lawsuit, which challenges two laws that dictate how law enforcement can detain undocumented immigrants. Now El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal is joining that fight.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: El Paso County to sue Colorado over immigration laws
“This is not a partisan issue, this is a smart issue for the safety of residents regardless, and it truly is a problem,” said Carrie Geitner the Vice Chair of El Paso County.
The laws ban local law enforcement from working with the federal government to detain and arrest undocumented immigrants. It also stops law enforcement from entering into agreements with U.S. immigration and customs enforcement to detain suspected undocumented immigrants in their jails.
El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal said it can be extremely frustrating for law enforcement in our state.
“It’s unfair to the victims, it puts my community at further risk. Having this person out there, the people who oppose this bill don’t recognize the benefits to public safety that we could achieve with working with ICE,” said Roybal.
He says he worked on a recent case that involved an undocumented immigrant, and three children younger than seven who were sexually assaulted.
Earlier this year, Roybal joined about ten other sheriffs at the State Capitol to back a bill that would reverse the laws that prevent law enforcement from detaining those who are undocumented.
However, not everyone is for this change. In February, it was brought to the committee.
“This bill literally takes us back to a time of a dark past. I would argue when the state considered whether someone had papers in this particular way,” said State Rep. Kyle Brown.
That legislation died in committee back in February, now El Paso County has joined Douglas County in suing the state.
“A simple traffic stop could quickly turn into the separation of our family, and we could be ripped away from our community. We feared the possible outcome that would occur if ICE was contacted, a story many immigrant families in our state know all too well,” said a local girl who spoke at the committee back in February.
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