El Paso County pays $25,000 settlement to undocumented immigrant after former Sheriff sued

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Attorneys for former El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder, who was being sued in his official capacity, have agreed to pay a $25,000 dollar settlement to someone immigration authorities say was an undocumented immigrant. The immigrant filed a federal lawsuit claiming his rights were violated by being held in the El Paso County Jail solely based on his immigration status.

According to federal court documents, the undocumented immigrant named Saul Cisneros was held in the El Paso County Jail on two misdemeanor charges in late 2017. The complaint, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) states, "Sheriff Elder falsely imprisoned Mr. Cisneros for nearly four months after state law required his release. Sheriff Elder carried out this unlawful deprivation of liberty in the absence of a judicial warrant, without probable cause for a crime, and without any other valid legal authority."

"We obtained a preliminary injunction in March 2018 that entitled Mr. Cisneros finally to be released on bond after four months of being held in violation of his state constitutional right to bail and his state constitutional right to be free of unlawful search and seizure," ACLU Legal Director Mark Silverstein said.

Silverstein tells 13 Investigates the settlement was presented to the ACLU and Cisneros after 5 years of litigation in both federal and district court in El Paso County.

"The county filed what they call an offer of judgment. We accepted that, which means Mr. Cisneros gets at least some compensation now, instead of waiting what might have been another two or three years of litigation," Silverstein said.

The ACLU says they consider the offer of judgment to be an acknowledgment that Elder was "wrong" for holding Cisneros in the jail solely at the request of ICE due to Mr. Cisneros' immigration status.

"Mr. Cisneros is actually responsible for some pretty major changes to Colorado law, not only as a successful plaintiff in a class action ending an unconstitutional policy but as being the one responsible for the Colorado legislature to put that ruling into a Colorado statute," Silverstein said.

The ACLU Legal Director is referring to a 2019 Colorado law that was written in response to the Cisneros litigation with El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder.

The law titled "Protect Colorado Residents From Federal Government Overreach" prevents local law enforcement from placing people in their county jails on 48 holds at the request of federal immigration authorities. 

Recently, 13 Investigates spoke with Adrienne Benavidez, a former House member from Denver and prime sponsor of the legislation.

"If you've been arrested and you're being held on some charge and you're in custody of the sheriff's office in jail, you're not being held on immigration matters under an arrest," Rep. Benavidez said.

Before the law, the 48-hour holds, or "ICE holds," were used when an undocumented immigrant could bond out of jail on state charges or be released once they served their time or their case was dismissed.

This allowed ICE to detain undocumented immigrants and place them in the custody of the federal government and house them in ICE facilities until appearing before an immigration judge.

A spokesperson for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office says they do not comment on court settlements, per their policy. They could not provide former Sheriff Elder for comment because he is no longer an employee there.

Vernon Stewart, Executive Director of Communications for El Paso County, issued the following statement: “This case has a long and complicated procedural history.  It was filed in 2018 and appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court before it was removed from state court into federal court last year. After considering factors such as significant costs and fees associated with prolonged litigation this case was resolved.”

Attempts to reach Elder through media spokespersons for El Paso County were unsuccessful. However, in 2018 Elder told KRDO that he was able to house undocumented immigrants in the El Paso County Jail because they had completed an "Intergovernmental Services Agreement" (IGA) with ICE.