DENVER — Several Democratic politicians in Colorado are sounding the alarm over what they call "secret" ICE facilities after an online news outlet published an article last week. But are they really a secret?
On Wednesday, Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen took to multiple social media platforms, expressing her concerns over "secret ICE holding cells."
In her posts, Rep. Pettersen attributed her claims to the Colorado Times Recorder, which posted an article saying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained people for weeks at a time in "secretive" facilities.
The Recorder's article was written analyzing data from the Deportation Data Project, which is compiled by UC Berkley and UCLA through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and other methods of tracking ICE activity. ICE has not independently verified the accuracy of the data.
"I was unaware that these field offices were being used in this way, and I think that that's why it's so important that we tell the story of what's happening on the ground in a place like Colorado," said Rep. Pettersen when asked if she was concerned about the facilities before the Recorder's article was released.
Congressman Joe Neguse released a video outside of what he called "an ICE holding facility" in Glenwood Springs, saying, "ICE has opened nine different secret detention facilities."
Despite these claims by members of Congress, ICE insists that these holding facilities have been in place for years.
ICE responded to Rep. Pettersen in a post on X, denying any secret holding rooms and instead saying they are "sub-offices within the field office where ICE personnel are assigned."
These are not "secret" holding rooms they are sub-offices within the field office where ICE personnel are assigned, conduct operations, and process arrests. Most of these offices have been open and operating for more than 15 years. ICE Denver finds @RepPettersen claims.... https://t.co/Yt6wOCG2dF
— ICE Denver (@ERODenver) March 11, 2026
The Colorado Time Recorder article contained a list of 10 addresses for holding offices, including the ICE Geo facility in Aurora. Denver7 Investigates ran the other nine addresses through a Google search and found seven of them are field offices listed publicly on the ice.gov website.
A spokesperson for ICE Denver confirmed that the address in Colorado Springs is an HSI field office and that the address listed as the "Denver Hold Room" is Denver's ICE field office in Centennial, which Denver7 toured last summer.
When asked if calling these offices "secret" is misleading if they are published on the government's website, Rep. Pettersen responded saying,"I think that what we want to what we want to highlight is the way that they're being used."
Rep. Petterson and other members of Congress sent a letter to Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, demanding transparency regarding what happens in these facilities, including the number of individuals who have been detained in a holding cell for more than 12 hours and whether these facilities are complying with proper health codes.
"Overwhelmingly, Americans and Coloradans believe that ICE has gone too far and they need to be reined in. We're doing everything that we can to bring accountability and oversight," said Rep. Pettersen.
Last week, State Representative Manny Rutinel showed up at the ICE field office in Frederick, knocking on the door in front of news outlets and getting no answer.
"Clearly, these are secretive, hidden, underground facilities that they don't want the public to know about," he said.
Following this, an ICE Denver spokesperson released the following statement:
The claims made by State Representative Rutinel are false. These locations are not “hidden” or “black sites,” they are ICE suboffices located throughout Colorado and the country. These offices are where aliens may be asked to check in for appointments and where our officers report for work, conduct investigations, process arrests and may temporarily hold detainees before transferring them to a detention center. Many of the offices have holding cells which conform to all national detention standards and are inspected regularly, they are akin to a sheriff’s office or police department suboffice.
On occasion when a family unit is arrested they may temporarily pass through a suboffice before transportation is arranged for them to a detention center with a family housing unit. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not separate families or deport U.S. citizens. Illegal alien parents — absent indications of abuse or neglect — can choose to take their children with them, regardless of the children’s immigration statuses. Parents who choose to leave their children in the U.S. have the option to designate a third-party caregiver. This has always been the case, and this policy aligns with President Trump’s executive orders. This directive simply standardizes the required forms for illegal alien parents.
If Mr. Rutinel was as concerned about transparency as he says, he could make a formal request to tour the Frederick office in line with ICE policies and if granted could be given a tour of the office.
