In late May, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a memo listing over 500 “sanctuary jurisdictions” across the country, including 41 counties and 15 cities in Colorado, as well as the Colorado state government as a whole. Gunnison County was on the list, which labeled the jurisdictions as being noncompliant with federal immigration laws, potentially subjecting them to federal funding cuts.
After receiving significant backlash from a number of included jurisdictions around the country, DHS withdrew the memo as of June 1. It was no longer publicly available on the DHS website as of press time.
County Attorney Matt Hoyt said he was unaware of the criteria used by DHS to determine inclusion on the list.
“We do not understand why we are on that list,” he said. “We consistently have, and will continue to follow state and federal law regarding immigration. We're not aware of anything we're doing or not doing that's not consistent with immigration law.”
The list was prompted by an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in late April directing the federal government to identify jurisdictions which may be limiting local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities, such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The order directed federal officials to notify those jurisdictions of noncompliance and to warn of possible funding cuts as well as potential violations of federal criminal law.
“Some State and local officials … continue to use their authority to violate, obstruct, and defy the enforcement of Federal immigration laws,” the order states. “This is a lawless insurrection against the supremacy of Federal law and the Federal Government’s obligation to defend the territorial sovereignty of the United States.”
“I have never seen what it takes to get on their ‘list,’ so it would be great to find out how that actually works,” Gunnison County Sheriff Adam Murdie stated in an email to the Times. “I can tell you that we do cooperate with all our federal partners to the extent that Colorado law allows us to.”
According to Murdie, his office notifies ICE when a person “that is in the United States without following the proper channels” has been arrested and detained in Gunnison County. That includes notification when the person is scheduled to be released on bond.
“It is up to ICE to be here if they want to retrieve those individuals,” he said.
County Commissioner Laura Puckett Daniels said the county has had no direct communication with DHS, though members of Congressman Jeff Hurd’s office notified the county before the memo was published.
“In Gunnison County, we follow Colorado law,” she said. “We follow United States law. When we get federal grants, we follow the federal federal grant guidelines and requirements. So I’m not really sure where that designation came from.”
In a related move, the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Colorado alleging that a number of state laws are in violation of federal immigration law and seeking to have them overturned. According to the complaint filed in district court in Denver in early May, these laws “by intent and design interfere with and discriminate against the Federal Government’s enforcement of federal immigration law. That all violates the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.”
“When the laws and the Constitution are grey or bumping heads with each other, the courts take over and make a determination as to what needs to happen, not us,” Murdie said. “As for Gunnison County being a sanctuary county, that’s a matter of opinion and has nothing to do with the Office of Sheriff. This is not in a political position. Sides do not matter when it comes to the law and being a peace officer.”
Especially in light of the memo’s withdrawal, Gunnison County has no plans to challenge inclusion on the list, according to Puckett Daniels.
“How do we continue to care for the people that live and work in Gunnison County, that are a part of our community?” she said. “Throughout all of the different federal decisions, whether it's about public lands or health and human services funding or now this, we're really trying to keep that as our North Star.”
(Alan Wartes can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or publisher@gunnisontimes.com.)
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