EL PASO COUNTY- A lawsuit between the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell is moving forward.
The man in the middle of it all- Leonardo Canseco is expected in an El Paso County courtroom Wednesday afternoon.
Canseco is charged with two misdemeanors, with a bond of $800.
The ACLU is suing the sheriff for illegally denying to release Canseco from the Teller County Jail, after he posted bond, at the request of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
‘Being present in the country in violation of the immigration laws is a civil matter, not a crime. When Mr. Canseco posts his $800 bond for his minor misdemeanor charges, Colorado law requires the Sheriff to release him. Instead, at ICE’s request, the Sheriff plans to keep him in jail, without a warrant, without probable cause of a crime, and without any other valid legal authority,’ said ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein in a statement earlier this year.
At a press conference in July, Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said ‘This is not political this is common sense, this is the right thing to do to protect my community.’
‘The issue isn’t just one inmate, this is an issue for the nation, this is an issue that impacts our community, this is an issue that we are being tagged with making us cow down to different people,’ said Mikesell.
