Despite claims that the increase in immigration correlates directly with an increase in call level to law enforcement, the general discussion by police mind is that refugees, illegal or no, have little to do with the increase.  ,
Some states have come in the form of letters to the editor in The Mountain Mail and The Chaffee County Times in recent months. There have also been some comments made during Chaffee County Commissioners meetings that call for a charter of non- temple state or city position.  ,
Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze said the states in the words are “way off base”, including says about “busloads of refugees” being dropped off in Salida and the surrounding area. He said in the occasion a telephone involves an expat, that person is arrested and charged simply like anyone else. If they publish loan, they’re free to move. In Colorado it is illegal to do U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) holds.  ,
Salida Police Chief Russ Johnson seconded those sentiments, and said that although he has heard from people around town that the increase of immigrants sees an increase in crime, his data does n’t back that opinion.  ,
Buena Vista Police Department Chief Dean Morgan said a few newcomers in Buena Vista have been caught forging temporary keywords for their cars, which is a criminal. He said a majority of law tearing done by refugees is related to never knowing the rules of the streets in the United States, such as speed limits.  ,
Morgan said that sometimes BVPD will check with ICE to see if an entity is illegal, but have only had one proved example of an individual being here without having come through a proper port of entry.  ,
Often, individuals will build recognition documents from another state, which makes it more difficult to assess their immigration status. Still, the fact remains, that if an individual is caught committing a crime they are charged for that crime and if they post bail, are released, he explained.  ,
“( Police ) are not allowed to detain on immigration status alone”, Morgan said.  ,
Park County commissioners voted unanimously to be a non- sanctuary city during their regular meeting March 19. According to Meryl Phair, reporter for The Fairplay Flume, there is no legal definition of sanctuary county or city, but it is “understood as a jurisdiction that protects undocumented immigrants by not prosecuting violations of federal immigration laws while non- sanctuary counties comply with immigration enforcement” . ,
Park County Commissioner Dick Elsner said,” I’m not in favor of saying no, but I think the resolution has a clear understanding that it’s because we do n’t have the resources to support them. This is a great compromise saying we are non sanctuary, not because we do n’t want them to come here, but because of our location, lack of funding, and our inability to provide services” . ,  ,
A conversation with City of Salida Attorney Geoff Wilson, who lives in Morrison, yielded little in the way of answers on legalities of non- sanctuary declarations and the immigrant issue on a whole.  ,
Wilson called the declarations of non- sanctuary or sanctuary city “in vogue right now”, and said the issue is “uncharted territory” . ,
Wilson did speculate that in the instance Chaffee County declared itself a non- sanctuary county, the City of Salida could announce a contradictory resolution. This is because the county commissioners are in control of the property not annexed into city limits, but once a property is annexed into the city it falls under the jurisdiction of a different government body, Salida City Council.  ,
Wilson did note that although a majority of letter writers claim the increase in immigrants living in the area are at fault for the increase in crime, national data actually shows that crime related to illegal immigrants is down, and the United States is not experiencing a” crime wave”.
