As federal immigration enforcement picks up nationally and across Colorado, the Ouray County Sheriff ‘s Office and the Ridgway Marshal’s Office are pledging transparency and said immigration matters fall outside their jurisdiction.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained a Ouray County woman when she was released on bond from the Montrose County Jail on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office had previously arrested the 31-year-old woman on Monday morning for alleged domestic violence, child abuse and second-degree assault.

The Montrose County Sheriff’s Office did not provide any further information about ICE presence or activity at its jail, where the woman was taken into custody.

Ouray County Sheriff Justin Perry said his department had nothing to do with the federal agency’s detainment and did not know ICE was in the area until Wednesday morning when he received a report about the woman’s detainment. His department was only responding to a criminal matter within its jurisdiction, Perry said.

The Sheriff’s Office and Ridgway Marshal’s Office do not participate in federal immigration enforcement, according to both Perry and Ridgway Marshal Shane Schmalz.

Any assistance either department will provide ICE is limited to criminal matters, such as an active arrest warrant for an undocumented individual who is accused of a crime.

Neither the Sheriff ’s Office nor the Marshal’s Office will participate in sweeps or roundups of undocumented individuals, according to Perry and Schmalz.

Such actions fall under civil law rather than criminal law and are handled through administrative proceedings rather than criminal courts. The Colorado Legislature has limited local agencies’ power to assist with federal immigration enforcement.

Ouray Police Department Sgt. Justin Crandall said his department hasn’t discussed the topic recently. Ouray Police Acting Chief Gary Ray did not respond to a phone message seeking comment in time for deadline this week.

Aside from the report of the woman being intercepted by ICE after she was released from the Montrose County Jail, Perry said as of Wednesday he had not heard of other confirmed reports of ICE activity anywhere on the Western Slope.

Social media posts circulating last week falsely rumored the presence of ICE agents in Ridgway, according to Perry.

Perry said he is confident the federal agency would communicate with local law enforcement agencies if it planned on carrying out immigration enforcement in his department’s jurisdiction.

Schmalz said he is unsure whether ICE would notify his office about activity in his jurisdiction. But ICE hasn’t contacted the Marshal’s Office or the Sheriff ’s Office in the past few years or been active in the county, as far as both departments know.

Both Perry and Schmalz not only highlighted that their departments won’t participate in federal immigration matters, but also said they would let residents know if they knew about federal enforcement activity.

Perry encouraged concerned residents to call the Sheriff’s Office for accurate information in both English and Spanish.

When people call in, the Sheriff ’s Office will share knowledge it has about ICE activity within the department’s jurisdiction, excluding details about ongoing criminal investigations. Perry said the department won’t provide specifics about the federal agents’ locations, uniforms or vehicles. This is both because the department likely won’t know those specifics and also to protect the ICE agents themselves.

Schmalz also said the Marshal’s Office would inform the public if it knew about ICE activity.

So far, Perry said only one citizen has contacted him directly with concerns about rumored enforcement activity in the area. The majority of concerns have circulated online, related to the unfounded report of ICE presence in Ridgway.

Perry said he’s committed to providing residents with as much transparency as possible because the alternative foments fear among the county’s immigrant communities, he said.

He is most concerned fear of deportation will stop undocumented victims from reporting crimes, for fear they will be arrested themselves.

Immigration status has no bearing on the process of investigating a crime, he said. And false reports posted on social media cause panic and could have other negative consequences.

“We want to make sure that people have the right information because when there’s false reports like this, it breeds fear,” he said. “And we do not want there to be any fear with our Spanish-speaking community that we have here in Ouray County.”

Read this related story: Resources available for immigrants as threat of mass deportations looms