City attorney: Colorado law bars local cooperation with federal civil immigration detainers absent a judge-signed warrant

The Loveland City Council received a legal briefing from City Attorney Vince Jungless on Colorado law governing federal immigration detainers and the limits it places on local law enforcement and municipal resources.

Jungless told council that under Colorado Revised Statutes 24-76.6102, local law enforcement officials are "prohibited from acting on civil detainers that are issued by the immigration service for The United States" unless a federal judge signs a warrant authorizing an arrest. "None of the civil immigration detainer requests received from a federal immigration authority are reviewed approved or signed by a judge as required by Colorado law," he said.

He added that cooperation is possible where a federal judge issues a warrant under federal law and where other criminal activity — not solely an immigration matter — is involved. "To the extent that there is a federal judge that issues a warrant under federal law, then law enforcement would be able to cooperate," Jungless said.

Councilors asked whether the city could legally appeal or otherwise seek to change the scope of the statute; Jungless recommended discussing such options in executive session because pursuing legal recourse could entail risks that warrant confidential legal analysis. He also addressed a question about a recently reported executive order that would have frozen some federal funding, saying the order had been stayed and recommending staff review the city's grant agreements to assess vulnerability. "We'd have to examine those grant agreements," Jungless said, noting that agreements vary in the remedies and authorities they grant the federal government.

The briefing was informational; council did not take action on immigration policy during the meeting. Jungless offered to return with more detailed analysis after staff review and possible executive-session discussion of legal strategy.