After ICE protests, Durango forms immigration task force

DURANGO, Colo. — The City of Durango is creating a task force to support its immigrant community, a move that follows a community protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in late October.

The new task force will be run by the Community Cultural Relations Commission (CCRC), which exists to "promote diversity within the City and support an environment in which diverse community members feel valued and heard when they interact with the City of Durango."

The CCRC discussed the task force operations for the first time during a Nov. 19 meeting. The commission unanimously approved launching the task force within six months.

Three CCRC members — Olivia Lopez, Arely Sanchez, and Scott Smith — were voted onto the task force. In the coming months, they will interview other community members interested in joining.

Hundreds of people protested the ICE office in Durango Tuesday, Oct. 28. The protest came in response to ICE detaining two children and their father. At one point during the protests, an unidentified law enforcement officer threw a woman to the ground.

“The federal government’s lack of transparency about its immigration actions in Durango and in the free state of Colorado remains extremely maddening,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, said.

Task force members said they will soon begin hosting community listening sessions. These sessions are designed to better understand the specific needs of immigrant communities and determine the best ways the city can offer assistance.

“I feel this task force needs to be the conduit to promote dialogue,” said Lopez, a member of the task force. “I want to bring people to the table and unify them.”