Federal Judge Prohibits ICE from Making Warrantless Arrests in Colorado

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction today in a lawsuit challenging Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) practice of making warrantless arrests of people in Colorado in violation of federal law. The judge also granted provisional class certification in the case, extending the injunction to all similarly situated people in Colorado and ordering ICE to stop these unlawful practices.

“The court has confirmed what has been enshrined in federal law for decades: ICE cannot terrify our communities with their haphazard warrantless arrests,” said Tim Macdonald, ACLU of Colorado legal director. “A federal court has now declared that ICE must immediately stop these aggressive and unlawful tactics.”

The class-action lawsuit was filed in October 2025 on behalf of four plaintiffs — including 19-year-old University of Utah student and Dreamer Caroline Dias Goncalves, 43-year-old father and Lawful Permanent Resident Refugio Ramirez Ovando, 36-year-old asylum seeker J.S.T., and 32-year-old father and business-owner G.R.R. — by the ACLU of Colorado, the Meyer Law Office, and Olson Grimsley Kawanabe Hinchcliff & Murray, LLC.

The lawsuit alleges that ICE agents are arresting and detaining people without warrants to fulfill arbitrary arrest quotas set by Trump administration officials. This practice violates longstanding federal laws that require ICE agents to individually determine whether a person is both a flight risk and is in the United States in violation of the immigration laws. It has also sown deep fear in Colorado’s immigrant and Latine communities.

The judge’s order prohibits ICE from making warrantless arrests in Colorado, unless the arresting officer has probable cause to believe that the individual is in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws and that the person being arrested is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained. In ruling for the plaintiffs, the court acknowledged ICE’s authority to enforce immigration laws but made clear that “in carrying out these responsibilities, [ICE agents] must follow the law.”

Since President Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, ICE has raided apartment complexes, homes, businesses, and parking lots, where federal agents have used military-style tactical gear to intimidate and apprehend people. Federal agents also have increasingly been making so-called ‘collateral arrests’ of bystanders who happen to be in proximity to someone who ICE deems a person of interest. These aggressive and unlawful tactics have ensnared Goncalves, Ramirez Ovando, J.S.T., G.R.R., and others, leaving them to languish in detention facilities for weeks or months at a time.

“ICE's hubris and violent behavior have been on national display for months,” said Hans Meyer, owner of the Meyer Law Office, and immigration attorney for the plaintiffs. “But as Judge Jackson's decision makes clear, no one — including ICE — is above the law.”

“ICE has the power to enforce the law. Now, ICE must follow the law,” said Kenzo Kawanabe, partner at Olson Grimsley.

View preliminary injunction and class certification.

View complaint.