{"id":11824,"date":"2026-03-16T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/companeros-warns-of-increased-immigration-enforcement-in-durango\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:32:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:32:42","slug":"companeros-warns-of-increased-immigration-enforcement-in-durango","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/companeros-warns-of-increased-immigration-enforcement-in-durango\/","title":{"rendered":"Compa\u00f1eros warns of increased immigration enforcement in Durango"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A
A Durango man stops by the Compa\u00f1eros office on Main Avenue. The immigration advocacy group is working with people living in the country illegally about their eligibility to obtain a state driver\u2019s license.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Federal law enforcement activity targeting people living in the country illegally is ramping up in Durango, according to Compa\u00f1eros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center.<\/p>\n

Over the past few weeks, the nonprofit said it has received multiple reports from community members suggesting increased targeting of immigrants. The nonprofit also reports that volunteers with the Colorado Rapid Response Network are being harassed.<\/p>\n

In response to the apparent increase in enforcement activity, Compa\u00f1eros is calling for stronger support for immigrant communities from Durango\u2019s elected officials and greater transparency from the city\u2019s newly created immigration task force.<\/p>\n

Enrique Orozco-Perez, co-executive director of Compa\u00f1eros, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have reportedly been targeted immigrant workers at local construction sites and food businesses, as well as some business owners.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmployers are telling us that ICE is targeting their sites and going after people with no criminal records \u2013 good, hardworking people who have been here for a long time,\u201d he said. \u201cI think what people don\u2019t realize is ICE is constantly present in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Compa\u00f1eros, some employers have reported being told by immigration agents to avoid hiring workers from Mexico and instead hire U.S. citizens.<\/p>\n

The organization also expressed concern about what it described as intimidation of volunteer \u201cconfirmers,\u201d who observe and document immigration enforcement activity for the rapid response network. In a news release, Compa\u00f1eros said several volunteers reported that officers appeared at their workplaces or questioned them.<\/p>\n

Continued immigration enforcement affects the entire community, Orozco-Perez said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more ICE disrupts life in this town, the more that will disrupt the rest of the economy,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re talking about tourism and we\u2019re talking about regular everyday shoppers, because we\u2019re going to lose workers who are there day in and day out \u2013 who clean our hotel rooms, cook our food and do our landscaping during those beautiful months when it\u2019s not cold.\u201d<\/p>\n

The concerns outlined in the release were meant as a \u201ccall to action,\u201d he said \u2013 a reminder of the continued impact federal immigration enforcement efforts have on the community and an appeal to city councilors for stronger action.<\/p>\n

The organization is asking Durango\u2019s elected officials to make clear that residents, volunteers and advocates engaged in lawful activities will be protected.<\/p>\n

For Compa\u00f1eros, that would include affirming the legality of the confirmers\u2019 work, protecting them from intimidation and publicly clarifying the Durango Police Department\u2019s policy regarding officer interactions with federal immigration agents.<\/p>\n

The organization also raised concerns about the structure and transparency of the city\u2019s Immigration Task Force.<\/p>\n

In its news release, Compa\u00f1eros said questions remain about how task force members were selected and what criteria were used. The group said a proposal submitted in November to members of the city\u2019s Community Relations Commission and City Council has not been reviewed for months, and it is unclear whether it has been evaluated by all members involved in the process.<\/p>\n

While the organization said it respects the confidentiality of task force members, it believes the process would benefit from greater transparency and broader community participation.<\/p>\n

Compa\u00f1eros said it is concerned about being excluded from the task force despite describing itself as a key regional stakeholder and an early proponent of the concept presented to the city.<\/p>\n

\u201c(City officials) may have their qualms with me \u2013 the executive director \u2013 but there\u2019s other folks within our organization that are ready to be in that space and work collaboratively, because I\u2019m not the only voice in the organization,\u201d Orozco-Perez said.<\/p>\n

jbowman@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Advocacy group urges city leaders to defend civil liberties, support immigrant communities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,904,994],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-11824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-immigration","tag-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11824"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77041,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11824\/revisions\/77041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11824"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=11824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}