Discussion Points for Punto Legal –June 05, 2019

1. DACA.

When people come to see me renew their DACA, I tell them that the Trump Administration is trying to get the DACA program reviewed by the Supreme Court. They want the court to rule that DACA was beyond the power of President Obama to create. In other words, President Obama never had the authority to start DACA in the first place. The court has not yet decided to take up the case. And today it denied a request from the Administration to speed up its action in the DACA case. DACA stays alive based on court orders from four federal judges.

2. New Pro-Immigrant Laws.

Last week I mentioned that the Governor has signed several new pro-immigrant laws. I want to go into more detail on one of the bills. Senate Bill 1124:

Prohibits any Colorado law enforcement officer from arresting or detaining an individual on the basis of a immigration detainer or immigration hold issued by ICE, and

Prohibits a probation officer or probation department employee from providing an individual’s personal information to federal immigration authorities.

Here’s something else: When an immigrant is put into a Colorado jail, his photo and identifying information is immediately sent to ICE via a computer exchange. ICE then calls the jail and wants to the talk to the immigrant. In the past, a jailer would tell the immigrant: Here is a telephone; talk to this ICE agent. Now jailers have to tell immigrants

• ICE wants to interview you.
• You have the right to say No and remain silent.
• You have the right to speak to an attorney before submitting to the interview; and
• Anything the individual says may be used against him or her in in a federal immigration court.