AURORA, Colo.—Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say they are reviewing court summonses at the Aurora Detention Center in an effort to identify deportable illegal immigrants.
Agency spokesman Carl Rusnok tells The Aurora Sentinel ( ) that ICE officers will be at the jail through Tuesday to identify inmates who are fugitives, who have been previously deported or who have been convicted of dangerous crimes.
But members of local immigrant rights groups say ICE’s actions are cultivating a culture of fear.
Julie Gonzales, director of organizing for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, says “this ‘surge’ strategy sows terror, undermines community policing, drives victims underground” and should be stopped immediately.
Local police and jail officials stress that the probe is out of their hands and illegal immigration is handled solely by the federal government.
———
Information from: The Aurora Sentinel,
