Section 24-76.6-102 - Civil immigration detainers - legislative declaration(1) The general assembly finds and declares that:(a) Federal immigration authorities at times submit requests to state and local law enforcement agencies to detain an inmate after the inmate is eligible for release from custody. Continued detention of an inmate under a federal civil immigration detainer constitutes a new arrest under state law and a seizure under the fourth amendment of the United States constitution.(b) Requests for civil immigration detainers are not warrants under Colorado law. A warrant is a written order by a judge directed to a law enforcement officer commanding the arrest of the person named, as defined in section 16-1-104 (18). None of the civil immigration detainer requests received from the federal immigration authorities are reviewed, approved, or signed by a judge as required by Colorado law. The continued detention of an inmate at the request of federal immigration authorities beyond when he or she would otherwise be released constitutes a warrantless arrest, which is unconstitutional, People v. Burns, 615 P.2d 686, 688 (Colo. 1980).(2) A law enforcement officer shall not arrest or detain an individual on the basis of a civil immigration detainer request.(3) The authority of law enforcement is limited to the express authority granted in state law.(4) Nothing in this section precludes any law enforcement officer or employee from cooperating or assisting federal immigration enforcement authorities in the execution of a warrant issued by a federal judge or magistrate or honoring any writ issued by any state or federal judge concerning the transfer of a prisoner to or from federal custody.(5) Nothing in this section precludes any law enforcement officer from investigating or enforcing any criminal law or from participating in coordinated law enforcement actions with federal law enforcement agencies in the enforcement of local, state, or federal criminal laws.Added by 2019 Ch. 299, § 2, eff. 5/28/2019.L. 2019: Entire article added, (HB 19-1124), ch. 2761, p. 2761, § 2, effective May 28.