Residents urge county action after sheriffs office aided ICE arrest; commissioners pledge review

Dozens of residents urged Chaffee County elected officials on Tuesday to adopt stronger protections for people in county buildings after an August 19 interaction between county deputies and federal immigration agents that led to the detention of a local resident and left her child behind.

The comments, made during the meetings public-comment period, centered on two demands: (1) that county-managed facilities bar civil immigration enforcement from nonpublic areas in the absence of a judge-signed warrant, and (2) that the county improve transparency around law-enforcement requests and body-worn camera release procedures.

The demands drew repeated, impassioned testimony from community members. "There is clear evidence of this in the Sheriff Andy recorded comments on his body cam," Lily Peters, who identified herself as the town childrens librarian, told the commissioners. "We are here today to hold him accountable and his team." Peters asked the board to adopt a policy that would deny enforcement access to nonpublic areas without a court order and require posted signage.

Laura Hansen, who gave a legal…