A group of liberal activists in Colorado is warning the state’s sheriffs that they will be held personally liable and sued if they cooperate with President-elect Trump’s mass deportation plans or with ICE officials in any way, including working to deport illegal immigrants.
In a letter to Colorado sheriffs he signed ACLU of Colorado executive director Deborah Richardson and legal director Tim MacDonald, the group warned of serious personal consequences for law enforcement officers in Colorado if they comply with ICE requests, including ICE detainers, who often prevent the agency from making dangerous arrests in public places.
The group compared Trump’s mass deportation plans to Japanese internment camps in the 1940s and said police could face tens of thousands of dollars in personal legal fines for aiding the effort.
MacDonald and Richardson warned Colorado sheriffs that “joining ICE or other federal officials in mass immigration raids or using your office’s authority to detain people solely at the request of ICE will expose you and your officers to personal liability.”
Aurora, Colorado, police prepare to search the scene of a reported home invasion on Dec. 17, 2024. (Fox News Digital)
“Any Colorado law enforcement officer who causes a violation of a right protected by the Colorado Constitution is subject to liability for damages and attorneys’ fees, including potential personal liability of up to $25,000, and their employer—defined to include an elected sheriff—is generally liable for the full amount of any uncollectible verdict,” the letter reads.
The ACLU of Colorado also strongly criticized the Aurora Police Department for cooperating with ICE in December detain more than a dozen immigrants in a violent home invasion and kidnapping incident connected with Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA).
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Gang members allegedly forced their way into the apartment of a Venezuelan immigrant couple at the Edge at Lowry Apartments in the A suburb of Denver and he tied up, beat, stabbed and kidnapped the victims, leaving them in the hospital. Allegedly, the perpetrators also stole jewelry from the victims.
MacDonald said the Aurora Police Department’s raid on TdA-affiliated criminals “exceeded their authority under Colorado law” and that “this type of conduct causes harm and distress to a vulnerable community and risks depriving residents of their rights guaranteed by the Colorado Constitution and state law.”
TREN DE ARAGUA ARE IDEOLOGICAL TERRORISTS DISGUISED AS A STREET GANG, EX-MILITARY OFFICER WARNS
Police search for evidence at an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, at the scene of a reported home invasion on Dec. 17, 2024. (Fox News Digital)
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“We have taken legal action against law enforcement offices that have violated Colorado law, and if necessary, we will do so again,” MacDonald said. “We stand ready to respond to violations of the civil rights of our neighbors and prevent constitutional violations of the rights of Colorado families and communities.”
Roger Hudson, a city council member in nearby Castle Pines, Colorado, responded to the letter, telling Fox News Digital that “it’s disappointing to me that an organization whose sole purpose was to defend the rights of Americans has now elected non-citizens — many of whom in our country illegally – over the rights of hard-working American taxpayers.”
“Colorado taxpayers are exhausted from working hard to foot the high bill for failed liberal policies, not only on immigration, but also on housing, education, transportation, infrastructure and the economy,” he said, adding, “Change is coming soon, and it’s starting inauguration of President Donald Trump.”
