DENVER – The ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit this morning against the Pueblo and Teller County Sheriff’s Offices on behalf of Michael Bailey, who was held in jail for 52 days on a years-old misdemeanor warrant awaiting his first appearance before a judge.   

The lawsuit, which was filed this morning in federal district court, seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

On Sept. 8, 2015, the Teller County Sheriff’s Office arrested Mr. Bailey on a four-year-old misdemeanor warrant from Pueblo County.  Although Colorado law requires that newly arrested detainees be brought “without unreasonable delay” to the nearest county court judge, who could set bond,  the Teller County Sheriff’s Office refused to take Mr. Bailey to court.  Instead, it waited for the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office to transport Mr. Bailey to Pueblo.  For more than six weeks, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office ignored multiple notices to transport Mr. Bailey. 

When Mr. Bailey finally appeared before the Pueblo County Court after 52 days in jail, he was immediately released on a personal recognizance bond, and all charges were dismissed soon afterward.       

“Both the Teller and Pueblo County sheriffs, through their indifference and incompetence, are responsible for forcing Michael Bailey to languish in jail for two months without any opportunity to post bond or see a judge,” said Mark Silverstein, ACLU of Colorado legal director. “Bailey was stuck in legal limbo as both sheriff departments violated his constitutional right to appear promptly before a judge who could advise him of his rights and allow him to be released on bond. 

As a result of his prolonged detention, Bailey lost his job and nearly two months of wages.

According to ACLU of Colorado staff attorney Rebecca Wallace, what happened to Mr. Bailey is indicative of a long-standing, statewide problem. 

“For years, the ACLU of Colorado has been receiving complaints of defendants languishing in jail on warrants from other counties for 10 days or more, with no opportunity to see a judge,” said Wallace.  “We have been investigating the cause of these delays and have determined that many county sheriffs across the state are not following court rules requiring them to bring their prisoners promptly before a judge for a first appearance.  This failure not only violates defendants’ constitutional rights, it also contributes to the problem of over-incarceration and jail overcrowding that plagues Colorado.”

“The real-life consequences of pretrial detention are broad and deep,” said ACLU cooperating attorney Darold Killmer. “That’s why we have due process protections built into the system to ensure that pretrial defendants, who are innocent in the eyes of the law, are not stuck in jail waiting for their day in court.  In this case, and far too many others across the state, those protections failed because they were not followed.”

Bailey is represented by Silverstein, Wallace and Killmer, as well as Michael Fairhurst of Killmer, Lane & Newman, LLP. 

more on this case

9/5/17
DENVER — The Trump administration today announced the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program. The DACA program has served as a critical lifeline for nearly 800,000 young immigrants, or “Dreamers,” including more than 17,000 here in Colorado, who came to this country as children and know the United States as their only home.
The following is a statement from ACLU of Colorado Executive Director Nathan Woodliff-Stanley reacting to the White House announcement rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program:

“There is no humane way to end DACA before having a legislative fix in place. Today’s decision to end the program is in response to a fake deadline and as part of a manufactured crisis.
“Five years ago, the federal government made a deal with immigrant youth: As long as you pass a criminal background check, you can live, study, and work here. Hundreds of thousands of young people came out of the shadows and accepted the government’s offer in good faith and worked hard to build their lives here.
“Today, the government and President Trump went back on their word, threw the lives and futures of 800,000 Dreamers and their families into disarray, and injected chaos and uncertainty into thousands of workplaces and communities across America.
“In Colorado alone, more than 17,000 of our neighbors used their DACA status to give back to our country in innumerable ways: they are our doctors, soldiers, and students. They are our neighbors, family, and friends.
“Now, the fate of 800,000 young adults, who call this country their home, lies in the hands of Congress. Colorado lawmakers, including Senator Cory Gardner and Representative Mike Coffman, must decide if they are on the side of Dreamers and our country’s foundation or on the side of the ugly forces that helped to end DACA. These 800,000 lives are not pawns and Congress must step up and deliver a clean and bipartisan solution, such as the Dream Act.
“While this is a hard day for the immigrant community and America as a whole, we will continue to fight. Years of courage, sacrifices, and organizing won the DACA program in 2012. Nothing will deter these Americans and our allies in Colorado and across the country from continuing to fight on behalf of their futures and holding those responsible accountable.”

By Rebecca Wallace, Sara Neel, & Arash Jahanian
 
AUGUST 31, 2017 | 3:15 PM
It was an evening in late July when an ICE guard told France Anwar Elias and several other Iraqi men in immigration custody in Arizona that they were going to be released. France described the feeling as, “going from death back again to life.” The men broke out in tears and embraced one another. Many of them had been in immigration custody for months, unsure of the future and frightened for what could happen if they were deported to Iraq, where they face near-certain persecution, torture, or death.
Hours later and only after the men shed their uniforms and changed into regular clothes, the guards broke the news that they were actually just being transferred to yet another immigration detention facility. Kamran Malik said that the news felt like “a knife through the heart.” He had already called his family to tell them that he was coming home, and they were waiting to celebrate.
France distinctly remembers a guard saying, with a smirk, “Sorry for the misunderstanding.”
This was not a misunderstanding.
It was one cruel moment in a series of abuses that the ACLU’s clients have suffered since they entered ICE’s custody in May. They had been transferred by ICE in July to GEO, a privately owned 1,500 bed immigration detention center in Aurora, Colorado.

The ACLU is deeply concerned about reports of abuse and retaliation by ICE against our clients because of their participation in a nationwide class action suit which seeks to stop the immediate deportation of any Iraqi national in the United States. As members of the ACLU of Colorado’s legal team, we traveled to GEO to meet with the men and document their experiences.
GEO, the second largest immigration detention facility in the country, is a tightly regulated, colorless institution with bare cement walls, large metal doors that lock at every threshold and scores of prisoners in scrubs. Each of the detainees we interviewed provided accounts of mistreatment. These accounts were consistent, as was their palpable fear of death if ultimately deported to Iraq.
ICE appears to be targeting Iraqi nationals, because these men are fighting President Trump in court. In March, Trump struck a deal with the Iraqi government: If that government accepted individuals deported from the United States, he would omit Iraq from the list of six Muslim-majority countries banned from traveling to the U.S. In May, ICE began making mass arrests of Iraqis with open removal orders with the intent to deport them immediately.
Among those arrested were Christians, Kurds, and Muslims. They had been living in the United States for varying lengths of time, many for decades. Many who were swept up are Chaldean Christians, members of a religious and ethnic minority that faces violent persecution in Iraq. Fears of violence have been exacerbated by the rise of ISIS, which has also targeted Sunni and Kurdish Muslims. All of these men have reason to believe that living in America will mark them as targets for persecution by ISIS or other groups should they return to Iraq.
Deporting people to a country where they are likely to face violent persecution is not only immoral; it is against American and international law. That’s why the ACLU is fighting in court to allow these individuals time to reopen their cases and prove the danger which awaits them in Iraq. In late July, a federal district judge blocked the federal government from immediately deporting anyone and extended our class action to include Iraqis with final orders of removal nationwide. But the fight is not over to ensure that everyone gets a chance to make their case before an Immigration judge.
Since the court’s ruling, ICE appears to have ramped up its efforts to make the lives of Iraqis in custody so unbearable that they will “voluntarily” sign away their rights to reopen their immigration cases or pursue asylum. The Iraqis have been singled out and denied food, water, and access to the restroom.
One man, who came to the United States as a refugee in 1976, reflected that if he goes back to Iraq, he will be tortured and killed. Still, he feels that his experiences at the hands of ICE are “a different way of torture.” He has told his wife that he is considering just signing the form and going back to Iraq.
In Arizona and Colorado, and on the plane traveling between the two locations, ICE guards referred to the Iraqis as “camel jockey,” “rag head,” and “terrorist.” Guards at GEO referred to one of our clients as ‘Al Qaeda’ and told him, “You Iraqis are the worst people in here. We can’t stand you Iraqis.” When he tried to say that he has rights, he was told that he doesn’t have any rights because he was “an alien.”
ICE guards in Arizona and Colorado have openly pressured Iraqi nationals to sign away their right to fight their immigration cases. Some guards told the detainees that their situations were hopeless and urged them to sign forms agreeing to voluntary deportation, without counsel present. Some Iraqis apparently succumbed to the pressure. The brave men we spoke to have decided to stay and fight.
The ICE guards have no idea whether the detainees have a valid basis to fight their removal. Some detainees said the guards mocked the lawsuit, saying that it would fail. This psychological manipulation is clearly being done to cause distress in those choosing to participate in the legal action.
It is tragic that these individuals, who fear persecution in Iraq because of their religion and connection to America, are now being persecuted by agents of the United States government.