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Millions of federal dollars are being withheld from local law enforcement agencies, including some in Southwest Colorado, where states or individual communities have butted heads with the U.S. Department of Justice over immigration policy.

In 2017, the Department of Justice said law enforcement agencies must meet two immigration-related requirements to receive funds from the federal grant program. Colorado sued the DOJ in March alleging the requirements are unconstitutional. In the meantime, the federal funds have been withheld from Colorado agencies, meaning rural agencies are being deprived of millions of dollars, according to state and local agencies.

“Smaller, rural jurisdictions look forward to the availability of this money every year, simply because they don’t have the budgets ... to be able to support the modernization of their agencies,” said Joe Thome, director of the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice.

To receive the funds, the Department of Justice requires states, communities and individual agencies to notify the U.S. Department of Homeland Security 48 hours before releasing undocumented immigrants and to allow DHS officials into jails to question inmates about their immigration status.

If recipients – like courts, correctional facilities and law enforcement agencies – do not meet those requirements, they may not receive funds.

In its lawsuit, Colorado argued that withholding the funds violates the 10th Amendment – along with other statutory violations – which says the federal government is not permitted to “commandeer” or compel state and local officials to enforce federal law.

Law enforcement agencies receive the funding for equipment like radios, staff positions and community programs by applying to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, offered through the Bureau of Justice Assistance in the DOJ.

Since 2017, Colorado has disbursed about $537,000 of the federal funds to law enforcement agencies. That leaves $5.5 million in grants that have been awarded during the 2017, 2018 and 2019 JAG application periods that cannot be disbursed, Thome said.

In 2017 and 2018, rural agencies requested about $2.3 million of those funds, according to The Durango Herald’s analysis of recipient reports. The division hasn’t posted the 2019 recipient report.

“When these (JAG) monies get delayed by the Department of Justice, it really disproportionately impacts these rural, smaller communities,” Thome said.

In La Plata, Montezuma and Archuleta counties, four agencies are waiting for more than $200,000 from their 2017 and 2018 applications.

The Bayfield Marshal’s Office is waiting to receive less than $64,000 to add a full-time deputy position. Without JAG funding for the new position, the office is caught between fully supporting its youth law enforcement classes in the Bayfield School District and fully supporting its patrol officers in the face of expected population growth.

“It’s a frustration that, quite frankly, the money’s being held hostage,” Bayfield Marshal Joe McIntyre said, making clear he was taking a nonpartisan perspective. “I think anybody who was awarded this grant funding could probably say it’s a frustration.”

Other agencies are either still waiting on funds or had to figure out an alternative solution.

The Fort Lewis College Police Department was awarded $22,000 for radios, but the agency had to draw from to other funds to update the equipment, said Lauren Savage, spokeswoman for the college.

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe was awarded more than $18,000 in 2017. The tribe could not be reached for comment for this story.

The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office received $62,000 in 2017 for a continuing education program focused on reducing crime and recidivism; however, the agency is still waiting on $100,000 to add three court security positions in Montezuma and Dolores county courthouses.

The Sheriff’s Office can provide only one security officer to monitor multiple courtrooms while three others focus on different courthouse security needs. That jeopardizes safety, said Sheriff Steve Nowlin. The agency also has seen drug deals and civil disputes take place at the courthouse, he said.

“When the bad things happen, and I end up with officers injured or citizens injured, that’s a problem,” Nowlin said. The funding freeze shows that some entities aren’t taking critical needs of officers seriously, he said.

The move to freeze funds set off a flurry of lawsuits from around the country. Federal courts already found the two requirements unlawful in cases brought by Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Evanston, Illinois.

“In fact, in every Byrne JAG case, the courts have ruled that the Justice Department does not have the statutory authority to create the immigration-related special conditions for Byrne JAG grants,” said Lawrence Pacheco, director of communications for the state Attorney General’s Office.

Colorado’s lawsuit is pending in federal district court in Denver. The DOJ filed a motion with the court to dismiss the case, and on Monday, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office filed a motion with the court asking it to rule in favor of the state. It’s unclear how long it will take for the court to issue a ruling.

The Colorado Division of Criminal Justice said if Colorado wins its case, the agencies will receive all of the backlogged funds.

smullane@durangoherald.com