Federal Judge Charlotte Sweeney has opened proceedings into an ICE practice of immediately re-arresting people who were released under court orders. The case involves, among others, the detention center in Aurora.
The case began with a habeas corpus petition. Ramon Quintero Alvarez of Wyoming asked to be released from the private detention center in Aurora. His attorney, Andrew Soler, told the judge that Alvarez had been released, immediately detained again and remained in custody. Sweeney promptly scheduled a hearing for the next day and ordered ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to appear and ensure that Alvarez was present.
According to the judge, ICE released and immediately re-arrested 10 people within a week, even though courts had ordered their release. An ICE representative who testified in court said Alvarez was detained in front of the public lobby of the Aurora facility. Nichole Black, deputy director of the ICE field office, stated that she had been instructed to re-detain people released through habeas proceedings if they had any criminal history. Black said she believes ICE has the right to immediately detain a person again in such circumstances.
Sweeney found that this ICE protocol violates her order. She also said that the rulings of the court and of other judges are being disregarded. The judge warned Soler that his conduct bordered on a violation of professional ethics.
Sweeney scheduled a hearing for Monday morning with the director of the ICE field office. She also ordered the government to provide a list of all people in Colorado who were detained again immediately after being released under court orders. The federal court in Colorado has been dealing with a wave of habeas corpus petitions from people held in immigration detention for more than a year.
ICE maintains that it has the right to re-arrest detainees. The hearing with the head of ICE’s Denver office is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 9.
Source: Denver Post
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