Federal judge says immigration officers in Colorado can only arrest those at risk of fleeing

By COLLEEN SLEVIN DENVER AP A federal judge ruled Tuesday that immigration officers in Colorado can only arrest people without a warrant if they think those people are likely to flee Related Articles Judge sets K bond for Florida congresswoman accused of stealing M in COVID- funds FACT FOCUS Trump gets it wrong claiming no murders in DC for the last six months Judge gives Justice Department a day to detail Ghislaine Maxwell trial materials to be circulated Wellness care plan circulated by the White House runs into familiar GOP divisions DC Mayor Bowser announces she won t seek fourth term as Trump s federal intervention continues U S District Senior Judge R Brooke Jackson issued the order in a legal challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and other lawyers They re representing four people including asylum-seekers who were arrested by U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement without warrants this year as part of President Donald Trump s increased immigration enforcement The lawsuit accuses immigration officers of indiscriminately arresting Latinos to meet enforcement goals without evaluating what s required to legally detain them Jackson noted each of those who sued had longstanding ties to their communities and no reasonable officer could have concluded they were likely to flee before getting a warrant to arrest them Before arresting anyone without a warrant immigration officers must have probable cause to believe both that someone is in the country illegally and that they are likely to flee before an arrest warrant can be obtained under federal law he mentioned Jackson also noted immigration officers needed to document the reasons for why they are arresting someone Tricia McLaughlin a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Safeguard called it an activist ruling and noted the department follows the law Charges that DHS law enforcement engages in racial profiling are disgusting reckless and categorically FALSE she reported in a comment The ruling is similar to one made earlier this year in a occurrence brought by another chapter of the ACLU in California involving arrests by Edge Patrol agents The leadership has appealed that ruling Another judge had also issued a restraining order barring federal agents from stopping people based solely on their race language job or location in the Los Angeles area after finding that they were conducting indiscriminate stops The Supreme Court lifted that order in September McLaughlin suggested the governing body would appeal the Colorado ruling The Supreme Court in the last few days vindicated us on this question elsewhere and we look forward to further vindication in this episode as well she revealed