County Democratic Party chair urges commissioners to oppose CoreCivic facility for ICE detentions

Carlotta Portela, chair of the county Democratic Party, addressed the Huerfano County Board of Commissioners during the public-comment period on Oct. 21 to present a postcard campaign and a signed poster opposing the use of a privately owned CoreCivic prison for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detentions.

"My name is Carlotta Portela, and, I am the chair of the county Democratic Party," Portela told the board, reading a prepared statement and noting that the county Democratic Party had worked with members of the Los Animas County Democrats on a postcard campaign. She said the campaign involved sending postcards to "different government entities over the last month or two" and that organizers had not yet received responses from authorities the group contacted.

Portela described the issue as both "complex and emotional" and argued that decisions on whether to use a private detention facility for ICE should weigh "the economic, legal, and moral implications of potential decisions." She urged commissioners to consider constituent messages collected on a poster made public at a recent "No Kings" event and closed by asking commissioners to be guided by "the values of justice, compassion, and human dignity" in future decisions.

Portela's remarks were presented as public comment; the transcript included no board action in response and no staff follow-up direction recorded during the meeting excerpt. Commissioners did not engage in a back-and-forth with the speaker as the board's public-comment guidance stated that the period is an opportunity to "express views" without a direct exchange.

The comment provides the board with a record of local organized opposition to any prospective use of a private CoreCivic facility for ICE detentions; the transcript does not show the board taking further action at this meeting.