SOUTHERN COLORADO — In a monthly news conference on Thursday, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade said the state should let local law enforcement agencies cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold undocumented people who commit crimes accountable.
You can watch his news conference below:
WATCH: Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade delivers first monthly press briefing of 2025
Colorado law limits the ability of local law enforcement agencies to work with ICE and prohibits officers from arresting a person solely on the basis of a civil immigration detainer.
Mayor Mobolade said local police should be able to share information with ICE about any undocumented criminals in the city.
"I want to be clear that I'm talking about people who commit crime. Again, whether you're U.S.-born or a U.S. citizen or foreign-born, we must hold you accountable. And if that leads to further action by the federal government, I welcome that," said Mayor Mobolade.
The mayor said the city has seen migrants "sprinkle into our community" but did not know exactly how many migrants are currently living in Colorado Springs. He said the city has no way of tracking that number, other than reports from nonprofit providers, because immigration activities are a "federal responsibility."
Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said President Trump's mass deportation plans will not affect department operations.
“Our requirements are that we will investigate criminal activity. If the person happens to be an illegal alien here in the country, it’s about the criminal activity, not about their status. And we will stay away from that status and we will fully comply with legal criminal acts and do our investigation as we would with anyone," said Chief Vasquez.
He said the department will "absolutely not" plan any immigration raids in the city.
Current CSPD policy says department members cannot enforce civil immigration laws and will refer all such matters to ICE. The policy also says officers will not check the immigration status of people they routinely come in contact with.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office declined to participate in an interview about its role in deportation plans. However, a spokesperson for the department said in an email to News5 the office does not notify ICE when undocumented individuals are held at the El Paso County Jail because that would violate state law. The spokesperson also said it does not notify ICE before releasing undocumented inmates and does not hold inmates beyond the time they are required to serve even if instructed by an ICE detainer.
In Jan. 2024, El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal and Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell worked with lawmakers to introduce legislation to reverse current statutes banning local law enforcement agencies from working with ICE. The bill was indefinitely suspended in committee in Feb. 2024.
WATCH: Law passed in 2019 bans law enforcement from detaining anyone on immigration status alone
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