The Colorado division of the American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Sheriff’s Office, accusing the office of holding a man in jail for 47 days because it believed he was in the country illegally.

According to the ACLU, Luis Quezada was arrested last May for failing to appear in court on a traffic charge. Days later a Jefferson County Court ordered him released when the traffic issue was resolved. However, Quezada was held at the jail for 47 days because Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, put a hold on him because he was suspected of being in the country illegally.

“Without any legal authority whatsoever, Sheriff Ted Mink imprisoned our client and kept him in legal limbo for 47 days, with no charges pending, no opportunity to see a judge and no opportunity to post bail,” said Mark Silverstein, ACLU of Colorado legal director. “When we say that our client was denied liberty, we mean that literally.”

According to the ACLU, an inmate with an ICE hold can be imprisoned an additional 48 hours to allow an ICE agent to take the inmate into custody. Quezada was taken into ICE custody in mid-July, and released on bond as his case went through an immigration court.

Jacki Kelley, spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office, confirmed that Quezada was in the jail for 47 days and on an ICE hold, but declined further comment about the ACLU’s accusations.

“We were served with the same papers delivered to the media,” she said. “We’re investigating the allegations.”

Kelley said the Sheriff’s Office automatically alerts ICE whenever the jail receives an inmate who is foreign-born, which may or may not lead to a hold. Kelley said the Jeffco Jail was recently audited by ICE officials from Washington, D.C., and found to be in compliance with standards for housing ICE inmates.

Silverstein said Quezada’s sister originally contacted his office when she could not get the attention of the Sheriff’s Office.

Silverstein said he believes the problem of extended ICE holds is a large one in Colorado.

“Here at the ACLU we’ve heard of other cases like this,” Silverstein said. “We wrote to the Colorado Sheriff’s about this very issue, advising them that these immigration detainers only qualify them to hold the prisoner for 48 hours.”

Sliverstein said the lawsuit seeks compensation for 47 days of illegal loss of liberty, but, per federal court protocol, a number is not named.