DENVER — The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado filed an emergency motion and amicus brief after federal immigration authorities allegedly circumvented court orders by telling detained immigrants they were being released, only to immediately arrest them again and return them to custody.
According to the ACLU of Colorado, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents gathered a group of men Oct. 27 at the GEO detention facility in Aurora, Colorado, and informed them they would be released pursuant to federal court orders.
Instead, the men were escorted outside the facility, where ICE agents immediately surrounded them, announced they were under arrest and returned them to detention.
The ACLU alleged that similar incidents occurred repeatedly between Oct. 27 and Nov. 3, despite federal judges ordering the individuals released.
On Nov. 7, the ACLU of Colorado and immigration attorney and law professor Elizabeth Jordan filed an amicus brief in Quintero Alvarez v. Baltazar, detailing what they described as a pattern of unlawful detention and deliberate circumvention of federal court orders.
The brief identified at least 17 cases in Colorado in which ICE allegedly continued detaining individuals despite judicial orders requiring their release.
The ACLU argued that the practice undermined federal court authority and deprived immigrants of the relief they had obtained through habeas corpus proceedings.
In their filing, the ACLU and Jordan described the organization’s history of advocating for immigrants’ constitutional rights, including litigation challenging warrantless immigration arrests.
The brief alleged that ICE had developed a practice of carrying out what appeared to be releases while maintaining continuous custody of the individuals involved.
Some detainees were escorted outside the detention facility before being immediately arrested again, while others allegedly never left the building.
According to the filing, the individuals were not given a meaningful opportunity to leave ICE custody.
The ACLU argued that these actions violated court orders requiring release and deprived the affected individuals of due process.
U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney ordered Nathan Rasper, the acting ICE field office director in Denver, to appear at a Nov. 9 hearing to address the allegations.
On Nov. 8, Sweeney granted an emergency motion allowing the ACLU and Jordan to participate in the hearing and present arguments concerning ICE’s detention practices.
Tim Macdonald, legal director of the ACLU of Colorado, criticized the agency’s conduct.
“These actions by ICE are appalling and yet another example of how ICE and the Trump administration are trying to skirt the system to defy court orders. ICE repeatedly violates court orders and continues to cause profound harm in our communities with its brutal tactics,” Macdonald said.
Macdonald called for the immediate release of individuals subjected to the disputed procedures and demanded accountability for what he described as unlawful conduct.
“ICE must immediately release anyone subjected to these sham procedures and be held accountable for this brazen and unlawful conduct,” he said.
The ACLU described several individual cases illustrating the alleged practice.
In Lebrun v. Baltazar, a detained immigrant who had obtained a court order requiring his release described being taken back into custody shortly after leaving the detention facility.
According to the ACLU, the petitioner alleged that ICE agents turned off their body-worn cameras when he questioned their actions and threatened him with criminal prosecution.
Another individual described preparing to reunite with his family after receiving a release order, only to be arrested again before reaching the sidewalk outside the facility.
The ACLU said the repeated arrests caused emotional distress for detainees and their families, who had expected court-ordered releases to result in reunification.
Conor Gleason, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Colorado, criticized the impact of the practice on the individuals involved and the federal courts.
Gleason said the arrests undermined judicial authority and subjected immigrants and their families to additional trauma after they had already obtained legal relief.
The organization argued that meaningful judicial intervention was necessary to prevent ICE from continuing the practice.
In its brief, the ACLU also cited existing federal court decisions requiring additional procedural protections before immigration authorities can re-detain individuals who have been ordered released.
The filing argued that ICE cannot satisfy a judicial release order simply by briefly escorting someone outside a detention facility before immediately taking that person back into custody.
According to the ACLU, the problem extends beyond Colorado.
The organization pointed to similar allegations involving immigration detention practices in Minnesota, where federal courts have also confronted questions about ICE’s compliance with release orders.
The Nov. 9 evidentiary hearing provided an opportunity for the court to examine the agency’s conduct and hear testimony from immigration officials.
During the hearing, Rasper appeared before Sweeney, and attorneys representing the government, the ACLU and Jordan addressed the disputed release procedures.
The ACLU subsequently reported that ICE committed to ending the practice of immediately re-arresting immigrants following court-ordered releases.
The case centers on whether federal immigration authorities can claim compliance with a judicial release order while maintaining effective custody of the person the court ordered released.
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