DENVER — A judge will hear final arguments Thursday morning in a class action lawsuit to decide whether or not people detained by Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) should have the right to ask for bond.
ICE announced in July that immigrants who arrive in the United States illegally will no longer be eligible for bond.
"The timing of this lawsuit is critical, because we're seeing increased immigration enforcement in Colorado, much of which we believe is illegal or unlawful," immigration attorney Hans Meyer told Denver7. "And so we think that not only is ICE breaking its own laws when it's enforcing immigration law when it goes out and does warrantless arrests, but then it's breaking the law when it's trying to deny people bond."
Now hundreds of immigrants are detained in Aurora with no way out. Meyer said it's not a question on whether or not they deserve to leave.
"The bond question has nothing to do with whether or not we think immigrants are good people or bad people. It has to do with whether or not immigration agents and ice and the immigration courts are actually following the law," Meyer said.
Denver7 reached out to ICE too. We were told in a short statement: "ICE does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation."
Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, has previously said self-deportation is a safer path for people in the U.S. illegally, and saves taxpayer dollars.
If the judge sides in his favor, Meyer said it won't change anything for cases that have already been pushed through.
"I think at the detention center, it would just mean that courts would then be hearing bond cases for the people who are currently detained, but you know, for people who have already been removed from the country, there's no bond hearing," Meyer said.
The hearing is in federal court at 9 a.m. A judge could make a decision Thursday, but Meyer said he's not hopeful.
