A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Colorado may only arrest illegal immigrants without a warrant if the targets are likely to flee.
U.S. District Senior Judge R. Brooke Jackson’s order comes after a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and other lawyers on behalf of four people, including asylum-seekers, who were arrested by ICE without warrants earlier this year as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
The lawsuit accuses immigration agents of indiscriminately arresting Latinos to meet the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement goals without evaluating the requirements to legally detain them.
The judge said each of the plaintiffs had long-standing ties to their communities and no reasonable agent could have believed they were likely to flee before obtaining a warrant.
Under federal law, immigration agents must have probable cause to believe someone is in the country illegally and likely to flee before a warrant can be obtained, in order to arrest them without one, Jackson said.
Immigration agents are also required to document the reasons for arresting someone.
Hellbound and Down 