14 detainees re-arrested after release in Colorado ICE dispute
A federal judge ordered the director of ICE's Denver field office to appear in court Monday to explain why 14 people were taken back into custody immediately after court-ordered releases.
By Beatriz Soto ·
Fourteen individuals were re-arrested after being released from immigration detention in Colorado, according to a federal government filing. U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney ordered Nathan Rasper, the director of ICE's Denver field office, to appear in court Monday to address the timing and legality of those re-arrests.
The dispute began on Oct. 27 when Ramon Quintero Alvarez was released from custody. According to a court filing, immigration agents took him back into custody immediately after his release. On Nov. 3, federal attorneys told the court they would not submit a legal brief defending the lawfulness of Alvarez's continued detention.
Sweeney convened a hearing on Nov. 4 in response to the filing. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Soler and Kevin Traskos appeared alongside ICE Assistant Field Office Director Nichole Black, who testified under oath about the circumstances of Alvarez's re-arrest. During the hearing, Sweeney questioned whether ICE was circumventing judicial orders by briefly releasing detainees before immediately taking them back into custody.
On Nov. 4, Sweeney ordered Alvarez released and barred immigration authorities from detaining him again. To re-detain him, the government must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence at a bond hearing that he poses a flight risk or a danger to the community.
The Nov. 5 order followed an earlier ruling requiring the government to identify every case in Colorado since Oct. 27 in which ICE re-detained someone within 12 hours of a court-ordered release. Federal officials identified the 14 petitioners but did not provide the precise timing of the re-arrests in their initial filing. Sweeney directed officials to provide the exact dates and times of those releases and re-arrests.
The Department of Homeland Security maintains that ICE complied with lawful court orders. In a statement, the agency said that when an illegal alien is ordered released by a judge, that does not immunize the alien from immigration enforcement for all time. DHS added that ICE may seek to re-arrest the alien in a way that complies with the judicial decision.
The government must submit the additional information requested by Sweeney by 8 a.m. Monday. Rasper is scheduled to appear in court later that morning to address the agency's practices.
