PUEBLO COUNTY — The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office released a statement Thursday regarding the agency's cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to the sheriff’s office they will cooperate with ICE and support them when there are criminal charges. The sheriff's office also says they will be available for backup if officer safety concerns happen.
The sheriff’s office says they will not support or participate in any ICE round-up operations.
The sheriff's office statement included the below quote from Sheriff David Lucero.
"If there is something criminal related and we know the offender is in our county, absolutely we will support them. We will not support any round-up operations. My role isn’t to enforce immigration laws, I am not the federal sheriff. My role is to enforce Colorado law and to ensure the safety of the citizens of Pueblo County.
What we will do is we will continue to comply with state law concerning immigration and cooperation with federal officials."
Sheriff Lucero also said the agency does not have the resources to participate in operations of rounding up people who are in the country illegally.
He said he wants to put an end to rumors going around in the community that Pueblo County Sheriff’s deputies will assist ICE in conducting roundups at the following places:
- schools
- churches
- similar venues
Sheriff Lucero says deputies will continue to seek out and arrest anyone who is wanted for committing a crime, or who is a threat to the safety of the community, but they will not be out looking to arrest people based on only their immigration status.
He added the agency has no record of any child in Pueblo County School District 70 who has committed a crime that would be sought by ICE, and the sheriff’s office doesn't have a database of people who are living in the county illegally.
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