Judge limits ICE warrantless arrests after ACLU lawsuit in Colorado

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Colorado can detain illegal immigrants without a warrant only if the targets are likely to flee, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

The order by Senior U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson follows a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and other attorneys on behalf of four people, including asylum seekers, who were detained by ICE without a warrant earlier this year as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The lawsuit accuses immigration officials of indiscriminately detaining Latinos without considering legal detention requirements to achieve the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement goals.

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The judge said each of the plaintiffs had long-standing ties to their communities and that no reasonable authority could believe they would flee without a warrant.

Under federal law, immigration officers must have reasonable cause to believe a person is in the country illegally and is likely to flee before a warrant is issued, Jackson said.

Immigration agents are also required to document their reason for arresting someone.

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The judge said the plaintiffs had long ties to their communities and no reasonable authority could believe they would flee without a warrant. (Getty Images)

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin called Jackson’s decision an “activist decision” and said the department followed the law.

“Allegations of ‘racial profiling’ by DHS law enforcement are disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE,” he said in a statement.

Jackson’s ruling is similar to a separate decision issued earlier this year in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU over detentions by immigration officers in California. The federal government appealed this decision.

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin called the judge’s ruling “an activist decision.” (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Another judge barred immigration officers from targeting people based solely on factors such as race, language, job or location, after concluding they were stopping people indiscriminately. The Supreme Court lifted the restraining order in this case in September.

McLaughlin suggested the administration would appeal Jackson’s decision, saying, “The Supreme Court recently vindicated us elsewhere on this question, and we look forward to further vindication in this case as well.” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.