Lake County commissioners hear briefing on immigrant rights, enforcement risks and local resources

Karen McCarthy, an immigration attorney who lives in Leadville, told the Lake County Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday that recent federal guidance and executive actions have increased detentions and heightened fear among immigrant residents.

McCarthy said immigration agents can enter public places and sometimes rely on documents issued by immigration officers that are not judicial warrants, adding that “you do not have to talk to an immigration officer” and that residents may ask, “Am I free to leave?” to protect their rights.

The attorney summarized practical differences between judicial warrants, which require a judge’s finding of probable cause, and civil immigration documents issued by immigration agents. She said those immigration documents “do not carry the same weight” as judicial warrants and that agents have sometimes waited outside courthouses or probation offices to intercept people attending…