Thornton Police reiterate limits on immigration enforcement, update policy and outreach
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Summary
Police and legal staff briefed council on recently updated department policy restricting local assistance in civil immigration detentions without a federal warrant, described U/T visa work and outlined community outreach including bilingual materials and hospital distribution.
Police command and legal staff updated Thornton City Council on the department’s immigration-related policies and community outreach, saying state legislative changes and Lexipol guidance prompted a minor policy update but did not change the department’s core approach.
Chief Baer and staff said the department does not perform civil immigration detentions absent a valid federal warrant and that the department continues to focus on public-safety priorities and on encouraging victims and witnesses to report crime without fear of immigration inquiry. The department described the use of Lexipol — a national policy subscription service — to maintain best-practice operational policies vetted by attorneys and noted Thornton’s policies align with statewide updates.
Legal staff explained that recent state law changes removed authority to hold individuals based on probable cause or reasonable suspicion of federal immigration violations; the updated policy requires a warrant signed by a federal judge for Thornton to hold someone on a federal immigration detainer. Police also described information-sharing limits: personal identifying information not publicly available is not shared with federal authorities except where federal or state law requires it.
Chief Baer and staff described victim-witness work (U and T visa support) and said the department processed 33 U-visa matters in 2024 and 22 so far in 2025. Staff said they have distributed bilingual flyers (English and Spanish) to hospitals, schools, HOAs and high-density housing and plan a refreshed outreach push in August–September timed with school reopenings; council members requested greater outreach at Latino community events such as Dia de los Muertos and suggested police staffing of community booths.
Council members asked about masked undercover officers and whether Thornton could adopt local ordinances limiting mask use by law enforcement; staff said masks are used in limited circumstances for officer safety (SWAT/takedown teams, cold-weather duty, undercover operations) and supervisor approval is required. Staff offered to provide council with the recent statutory language and to return with additional research if council requests ordinances or policy changes.
Police staff also recounted one instance where Thornton assisted federal agents with a search and arrest at a mobile home community; staff said that operation was focused on criminal warrants for drugs and weapons, and Thornton’s role focused on public-safety crowd control rather than immigration enforcement.
