Eagle County Law Enforcement Immigrant Advisory Committee tries to build trust between police, immigrants

The Eagle County Law Enforcement Immigrant Advisory Committee has developed a “Frequently Asked Questions for Law Enforcement” brochure and is in the process of distributing the brochure throughout Eagle County.

The committee recently published 10,000 copies of the brochure in Spanish and 2,500 copies in English. The brochure responds to questions collected from the immigrant community for the police and was developed to help the immigrant community understand law enforcement actions. The brochure is available at local police departments and at area social service and nonprofit agencies.

The Eagle County Law Enforcement Immigrant Advisory Committee, now in its second year, consists of all heads of law enforcement in the county and local leaders in the immigrant community. The committee was formed in an effort to build trust and promote dialogue between law enforcement and the immigrant community.

The committee is co-chaired by Vail Police Chief Dwight Henninger and by Megan McGee Bonta, the Immigrant Community Advocate for Catholic Charities. The group meets regularly, sometimes with other experts to educate the committee on law enforcement and immigration related-issues, who in turn spread the information through their departments and into the larger community.

As trust develops and myths are shattered, the immigrant community will feel safer calling law enforcement when they need help and law enforcement will better understand the unique challenges faced by the immigrant community.

Participating agencies include the Eagle County Sheriff's Office, Colorado State Patrol, Vail Police Department, Basalt Police Department, Minturn Police Department, Avon Police Department, Eagle Police Department, Lone Star Security, Catholic Charities, Bright Future Foundation, The Youth Foundation, Salvation Army, Eagle County School District, and Eagle County.

For more information about the committee or to obtain brochures, contact Megan McGee Bonta at 970-949-0405 or Dwight Henninger at 970-479-2210.