Sheriff Justin Smith, remember his name, if you’re not already familiar with Larimer County’s top cop. Politically speaking, he’s not a small-town sheriff.

So when a future Republican candidate for higher office has an opinion about federal immigration policy, it’s worth reading. Smith contends it is unwise policy to never help federal immigration enforcement, but equally fool-headed to over-invest local resources.

Smith penned an 810-word op-ed that posted on the Estes Park Trail-Gazette website Friday. You can read it by clicking here.

“As your local sheriff, I work cooperatively with many law enforcement agencies, local, state and federal.” Smith wrote.

“Whether it’s the Estes Park Police, the Maine State Police or Immigration and Customs Enforcement – if another law enforcement agency requests assistance, my office will provide it, within the bounds of the constitution, applicable laws and our available resources.

“However, I won’t allow your sheriff’s office to be commandeered by any federal agency. Not only would that be an unwise practice, but it’s a clear violation of the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution (which prohibits the federal government from commandeering state governments.)”

Such a question is central to debates at the state and federal levels, as the Trump administration begins a crackdown on undocumented immigrants. In the statehouse, Republicans are proposing a bill to allow crime victims to sue local governments that have what are perceived as sanctuary city policies.

That will put more pressure on local law enforcement to assist federal immigration authorities with immigration issues.

Smith is a name you’ll hear again.

In 2015, he was viewed by some top Republicans as a viable challenger against Sen. Michael Bennet last year. Smith decided not to run, because his gut told him he should continue wearing a badge and a gun in Larimer County.

Three months earlier, the National Journal reported, “In a potentially wide-open race, Smith’s al­lies hope that he can turn the conservative profile he’s built on gun laws, marijuana, and immigration into grassroots support that’s easily translatable into votes thanks to Colorado’s all-mail balloting.”

For now. Smith is seeing what state and national politics look like from a ground-level view.

.”Through my quarter century working in the sheriff’s office, I don’t recall witnessing a more polarizing issue than the current debate on the role of sheriffs as it relates to enforcement of immigration law,” he wrote in the Trail-Gazette. “Multiple times a week, I’m asked why we are cooperating with federal immigration officials or why we are not. Throughout the legislative session, Colorado sheriffs have been placed in between competing Democratic and Republican sponsored bills at the Capitol.”