RIO GRANDE COUNTY - At the end of May, Rio Grande County officials received notice of a list of sanctuary counties from concerned residents published by the Colorado Department of Homeland Security (CDHS) and were surprised to find Rio Grande County on the list. The document was published on a website at www.dhs.gov/sanctuary-jurisdictions. This page, along with the list, has since been removed.  

In a statement issued on June 2 by the Rio Grande County Commissioners, they addressed the concern voiced by constituents that had seen the list stating, “Many of our Rio Grande County residents have seen a Department of Homeland Security list of sanctuary jurisdictions published last week at www.dhs.gov/sanctuary-jurisdictions. This page has since been deleted, but the list erroneously included Rio Grande County as a sanctuary jurisdiction for illegal immigrants. The Board of County Commissioners wants to be very clear that we are not a sanctuary jurisdiction.  

“As stated by Sheriff (Anne) Robinson on Friday, May 30, the Commissioners made a firm declaration opposing illegal immigration in January 2024 when they approved resolution 2024-08. This resolution declared that Rio Grande County is not a sanctuary county and called for the restoration of the rule of law along our borders. We have sent the Commissioners’ resolution to DHS and requested immediate removal from the list. We are also seeking to understand the criteria that led DHS to place us on the list.”  

In a meeting in January of 2024, the Rio Grande County Commissioners made a firm statement by passing Resolution 2024-08 that Rio Grande County would not serve as a sanctuary county. 

The resolution states, “The Rio Grande County Board of County Commissioners ("The Board") firmly believes any person immigrating to the United States should do so in a legal manner, following all applicable laws; and the present surge of undocumented persons and/or illegal immigrants on the Southwest Border is negatively impacting numerous communities across the country; and the continued and increasing amount of undocumented persons and/or illegal immigrants arriving by bus load into Denver has caused the City of Denver to declare an emergency on Dec 15th, 2023 as their resources were overwhelmed; and the saturation of the urban Colorado resources to support undocumented persons and/or illegal immigrants has already lead to some dispersion into rural areas of Colorado and creates the possibility of groups arriving in the San Luis Valley and Rio Grande County; and Rio Grande County lacks the infrastructure and other resources necessary to accommodate any amount of undocumented persons and/or illegal immigrants including sheltering, social services, public health, and public safety; THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, THE RIO GRANDE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF RIO GRANDE COUNTY, COLORADO declares that Rio Grande County is NOT a sanctuary county and will not open shelters or provide services to undocumented persons and/or illegal immigrants that may arrive in the San Luis Valley and in Rio Grande County. Rio Grande County will continue to place the needs of our local citizens first above requests for emergency or long-term assistance from non-citizens. The Rio Grande County Board of County Commissioners calls upon the United States Senate and Congress to immediately restore the rule of law along the Southwest Border by enforcing existing laws and rapidly creating a system to allow reasonable vetting of migrants who may then enter the United States legally and become productive members of this country.” 

Any member of the public seeking a copy of the 2024 Rio Grande County resolution may view and download the resolution from the Commissioner page on the County’s webpage (riograndecounty.org) or call the Administration Office at 719-657-2744 for a copy.