ALAMOSA — In what some may view as a surprise occurrence, Colorado Congressman Jeff Hurd (Republican, CD-3) came to the San Luis Valley last week to meet privately with several organizations, including Crestone/Baca Grande Indivisible, Concerned Citizens of the San Luis Valley and the San Luis Valley Immigrant Partnership Team, a faith-based group. The meeting was at the request of the coalition of groups and was held for the purpose of advocating for the welfare and humane treatment of immigrants held in detention by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division of the Department of Homeland Services (DHS).

The meeting was the result of a letter sent to Hurd from the Interfaith Immigration Network, a group comprised of different faiths across Colorado who have been determined in advocating for humane treatment.. The letter, subject line reading “People of faith demand accountability for secret ICE hold rooms in Colorado”, stated the group represents 1,500 people who signed the “Declaration of Faith by People in Support of the Lives and Rights of Immigrants”.

The Declaration demands that “elected officials in Colorado work to end inhumane practices effecting our immigrant neighbors, including inhumane conditions of detention.” That document can be viewed in its entirety at https://www.interfaithimmigrationnetwork.org/give-1.

The meeting, like the declaration and its demands, followed local media coverage of “secret hold rooms” used for the detention of immigrants, sometimes for weeks and in substandard conditions including, as specifically required by DHS policy, the deliberate lack of beds, cots or other sleeping equipment.

As the letter to Hurd stated, numerous hold rooms are located in Congressional District 3, which Hurd represents in the U.S. Congress, including Alamosa, Durango, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction and Craig.

“As people of faith who are called to care about our neighbors, we are very concerned about these secret hold rooms,” the letter reads.

Following the meeting, a written summary of the discussion was sent to Hurd (and later provided to the Valley Courier), including a list of the coalition’s primary concerns, including DHS violation “of their own rules with these hold rooms. Most of the people held have no criminal history, and many have no charges at all. And families are being torn apart, traumatized, and forced to live in fear.”

Further citing a significant loss of the public trust in how the DHS and ICE are addressing immigration, the group requested Hurd visit the six facilities where hold rooms are located in CD-3 “in order to report the conditions in each facility to the public and ensure ongoing oversight.”

The coalition also suggested Hurd request the Inspector General conduct an independent investigation of the hold centers in Colorado District 3 and develop a plan for regular oversight.

The meeting recap closed with the question around which the meeting was centered, worded in the most direct fashion possible: “Will [Congressman Hurd] commit today, on the record, to your constituents, the taxpayers funding such facilities, that you will meet our request?”

Finally, in the closing paragraph of the letter, Congressman Hurd’s self-proclaimed faith is introduced into the conversation. “We appeal to you and your deep faith to protect vulnerable citizens in your district who are suffering inhumane conditions of captivity.”

Due to the private nature of the meeting with media not allowed, the Valley Courier was unable to quote directly from what Congressman Hurd might have said or the nature of his response to the demands.

As a result, the only indication of how he stands on the issue is found in what he has stated publicly, which was ten months ago and, even then, isn’t much.

In the fall of 2025, when members of the public first witnessed the tactics and, sometimes, brutall ways ICE agents were detaining allegedly illegal immigrants, protests erupted in cities across the country.

At that time, Hurd told KREX in Grand Junction in a broadcast interview, “We should not be celebrating lawlessness and destruction of private property. It sows chaos. It hurts families. It hurts communities. Now, by contrast, what we saw in Grand Junction was a peaceful protest. That’s an example of the First Amendment properly used.”

Congressman Hurd’s comments suggested support for peaceful protests, but that was followed by a clear statement for support of what people were protesting: this administration’s immigration policies and ICE method of enforcement.

“I stand with the president and with ICE and with law enforcement when it comes to securing our borders and keeping our community safe,” he said. “When you stop the flow of drugs and crime coming into our community, that’s something that the president campaigned on and something that I campaigned on.”

The Valley Courier sent a message to Congressman Hurd asking for his reaction to the meeting. The response was sent via Nick Bayer, Hurd’s Chief of Staff.

“Congressman Hurd has been to all 27 counties multiply (sic) times this year and has heard from constituents all around. He looks forward to continuing to hear from constituents about the challenges facing rural Colorado.”

The Valley Courier is unable at this time to independently confirm the claims made in the March 4, 2026 article by the Colorado Times Recorder, but it can be read in its entirety at EXCLUSIVE: Secret ICE Detention Facilities Exist Around Colorado, Data Shows.