Larimer County Sheriff meets with Trump, other sheriffs on immigration

Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith was among a small group of law enforcement officials invited to the White House on Tuesday to speak about immigration and sanctuary cities and states.

Smith is no stranger to Washington, D.C., but this trip was different.

"It's a little unbelievable to get a phone call and be there within 24 hours," he said.

President Donald Trump told the roundtable of experts gathered that he wanted to "discuss the threat of very lawless, in many cases, sanctuary cities," saying they are "causing a lot of problems."

"Sanctuary cities and states like California put innocent Americans at the mercy of hardened criminals, hardened murderers in many cases," the president said.

Saramento, California, Sheriff Scott Jones and Gwinnett County, Georgia, Sheriff Butch Conway were the other sheriffs involved in the discussion.

Smith, who is the president of the County Sheriffs of Colorado, thanked the president, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and staff for their efforts to "restore the rule of law."

"As sheriffs, we inherently understand that that first role of government is to protect lives, liberty and property. Sheriffs remain on the front line of that fight," he said at the meeting.

Though no cities in Larimer County are considered sanctuary cities — in which local governments limit cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — Smith has been a vocal opponent of even their potential and has asked for more consistent immigration enforcement.

Smith also thanked the federal representatives for their work on clarifying legal contracts for detainers and requested federal resources to "indemnify sheriffs when sued by the ACLU."

Fort Collins: New police chief's start date could be delayed after police shooting in Illinois

He added that the agency was pressuring judges and pointed to "one activist judge" that had posted a "No ICE agents" sign on her courtroom door.

"The deputies in Colorado and the deputies across this country are safer for the work you're doing here," said Smith in his concluding remarks.

He later said in an interview that he's warned the city of Fort Collins that the "direction they're going really starts them down that road (of sanctuary city status)."

At the meeting, he cited the city of Denver's sanctuary city policy as seeming to cause problems.

The Republican sheriff has been consistent in his messaging about how the Larimer County Sheriff's Office deals with immigration: The agency enforces state and local laws, but it also won't be "commandeered by any federal agency."

The Larimer County Sheriff's Office shares fingerprint and biographical information with ICE as well as honors requests from ICE to meet with jail inmates. Deputies work with ICE if the federal agency places a detainer on an inmate to transfer custody, but the jail won't hold an inmate after that person has completed a sentence or after bond conditions are met. And the agency will work with ICE in the courts.

There are a couple of programs or contracts that ICE has with local governments, but the Larimer County Sheriff's Office is not a site for any of these.

If there was one take-away from the meeting with the president, Smith said it would be that "there's a desire to have cooperation between local governments and the federal government. We have to continue to work together."

That's a positive, he said, adding that agencies shouldn't get caught up in simply ignoring laws they don't like. But it goes both ways in that the sheriffs also expect cooperation from federal agencies on their cases as needed.

Smith said the individuals being discussed aren't just people who are in violation of immigration laws but those with criminal histories, and he appreciates that the federal government is getting serious about those discussions.

Related: Fort Collins banker talks tax reform with Trump: 'What an experience'

Sanctuary city proponents say that status doesn't protect violent criminals, rather those who may have misdemeanor offenses as well as other people who have no violations.

On the same week Smith met with the president, he had been discussing a case against El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder for holding plaintiffs in custody who had ICE immigration detainers or administrative warrants. A lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

"He ... believed what they were doing on a contract was compliant," Smith said.

Reporter Saja Hindi covers public safety and local politics. You can follow her on Twitter @BySajaHindi or email her at shindi@coloradoan.com.