DENVER — A federal judge has ruled that ICE violated a court order and the law by continuing to make unlawful warrantless arrests in Colorado.
The ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit in October 2025 on behalf of four plaintiffs, alleging Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested and detained people without warrants to fulfill quotas set by the Trump administration. Federal law only allows ICE agents to make warrantless arrests if an individual is a flight risk.
In November 2025, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction barring ICE from making warrantless arrests in Colorado.
On May 12, a Colorado District Court judge ruled that ICE had violated its November order and required ICE to have more oversight and training.
Tim Macdonald, Legal Director of the ACLU of Colorado, says the decision will affect how ICE operates nationwide.
“The court made clear that ICE needs to take the court's orders seriously. It's not a recommendation, it's an order. And under our Constitution, ICE is obligated to follow the law. We hope it changes their behavior, not just here in Colorado, it should change their behavior across the country,” Macdonald said.
Macdonald said ICE officers were documented rounding up people in masses at nightclubs and apartments without knowing if they posed a safety risk or without probable cause that they were in the country unlawfully.
One of the four plaintiffs was Caroline Dias Goncalvas, a 20-year-old Utah college student. A Mesa County Sheriff's deputy shared her immigration status with ICE after a traffic stop in Colorado last year. She was detained for 15 days at the Aurora ICE detention facility before being released.
During the hearing, ACLU attorneys cross-examined ICE agents under oath who had engaged in warrantless arrests in Colorado.
"They admitted they didn't really understand what the law was. In fact, many of them made statements that were flatly wrong and flatly contradicted what the law actually is. The court noted that in the opinion that these officers didn't understand the legal requirements that they were supposed to be operating under, and these are people with guns and badges, and it should be terrifying to all Coloradans," Macdonald said.
ICE has been ordered to train agents on how to make arrests that comply with federal law within 45 days and is prohibited from making any warrantless arrests until the training is complete.
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