Rumored ICE activity strikes fear in Vail
Businesses shut down, close early due to fear factor
Rumors of possible U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement action Wednesday night in Vail Village led to businesses shutting down early and at least two restaurants not opening for business on Thursday. But town officials say they had no contact with federal immigration officials and know of no arrests.
“We’re not aware of any ICE activity or federal law enforcement activity that occurred in the town of Vail last night or yesterday,” Vail Town Manager Russ Forrest said Thursday, acknowledging that ICE activity throughout Eagle County on Wednesday sparked fear.
“Unfortunately, we’re not different than other places in the United States, where there is fear,” Forrest said. “The best advice would be: we’re here, the town of Vail, the Vail Police Department is here to serve you. If you have questions, concerns, please call us directly, including the police department at night.” That phone number is (970) 479-2200.
Vail Mayor Barry Davis said he was flooded with calls Wednesday night and early Thursday from concerned citizens.
“I spent this morning talking to people from our community who are upset or afraid or feel that this is dividing our community,” Davis said. “So national politics aside, we have to understand what’s happening in our town and understand how our town works. And it’s the way people are reacting to this that is very real for us.”
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ICE confirmed that enforcement activity in EagleVail Wednesday morning led to the detention of seven individuals, according to Avon Police Chief Greg Daly. ICE officials did not respond to Vail Daily’s email requests for comment.
Vail Police Chief Ryan Kenney said he also heard about the EagleVail detention, although he didn’t know how many people were detained or the crimes they are accused of, but he confirmed there was no evidence of any ICE activity in Vail Wednesday night despite a flood of social media posts.
“I talked to my deputy chief and what he said is that our dispatch center was notified (Wednesday) by ICE that they’d be in Eagle County,” Kenney said. “None of my officers had any contact with ICE anywhere in Vail. We don’t have any reports of any law enforcement activity from ICE in Vail. That’s not to say they weren’t in Vail. I just don’t have any information from that, and I’m not going to get that from ICE.”
But the rampant social media reports of ICE activity from Minturn to Gypsum, true or not, had real consequences, according to Vail Town Council member and business owner Jonathan Staufer. Staufer’s manager at his Vail liquor store sent an employee with a valid J-1 visa home early and closed the store due to rumors that ICE agents were in Vail Wednesday night.
“There are two businesses that didn’t open today because people were afraid to come to work,” Staufer said. “So the fear factor is real and it’s having a real impact on our businesses. We closed early and two restaurants didn’t open today because of that fear factor.”
Also on Wednesday, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser launched a new section of the AG’s public complaint system to report ICE misconduct, saying in a statement, “Nobody is above the rule of law, including federal agents such as ICE or border patrol.”
Kenney said the federal law enforcement mandate runs counter to state law that prohibits cooperation with ICE.
“It makes things very tricky for us,” Kenney said. “But what I want to make clear is that the mission of the Vail Police Department has never changed … we serve everyone in this community regardless of their immigration status. And we’re going to continue to do that.
“The other side of that is that the federal government has a different mission than we do,” Kenney added. “Now we don’t assist them with that mission, but that mission sometimes causes us problems because it erodes away at the trust that we try to build every day with our entire community, and it causes people to distrust all of law enforcement. That’s something we have to work on every single day is to make sure that we build and maintain that trust.”
Asked about the fear factor and confusion and how it impacts a global tourism destination that relies on immigrant workers and guests from around the world, including Mexico, Kenney struggled to answer.
“It’s really tough for me to advise a group on how they deal with that fear, because the fear is legitimate,” Kenney said. “I can’t tell them not to worry about it. The only thing that I can say is based on my experience since this immigration enforcement has started, the local representatives of ICE here in Denver and in the mountain region have told us that they are looking for people, specific people that have felony warrants.
“But I want everyone in this community to know that the Vail Police Department does not do immigration enforcement,” Kenney added. “We do not care what your immigration status is. We’re here to serve you. If you’ve been a victim of a crime, they can call us.”
Call 911 for emergencies or Vail PD at (970) 479-2200 for non-emergencies. Local advocacy groups are also available. Mountain Dreamers is (970) 368-6354 and Voces Unidas is (970) 40-8586. Also reach out to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office public complaint system.
