Federal judge rules ICE agents in Colorado may only arrest illegal immigrants likely to flee

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.

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The judge said each of the plaintiffs had longstanding 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.

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Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin called Jackson's decision an "activist ruling" and said the department follows the law.

"Allegations that DHS law enforcement engages in 'racial profiling' are disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE," she said in a statement.

Jackson's ruling is similar to a separate decision issued earlier this year in a case brought by the ACLU in California involving arrests by immigration agents. The federal government has appealed that ruling.

Another judge prohibited immigration agents from targeting people based solely on factors such as their race, language, job or location after concluding that agents were carrying out indiscriminate stops. The Supreme Court lifted the restraining order in that case in September.

"The Supreme Court recently vindicated us on this question elsewhere, and we look forward to further vindication in this case as well," McLaughlin said, suggesting the administration would appeal Jackson's ruling.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.