At least 8 people detained at Denver immigration court as ICE presence increases, advocates say

Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, The Denver Post on Jun 5, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

DENVER — At least eight people — six adults and two children — have been detained at Denver’s federal immigration court since last Thursday as authorities have stepped up their presence, advocates say.

Volunteers at the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker social justice organization, tallied at least eight people who were picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at the immigration court inside the Byron G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse downtown.

The increased presence of immigration officers is a tactic linked to a larger strategy by President Donald Trump’s administration to help carry out its proposed mass deportations of immigrants who are in the country illegally.

Those detainees included a toddler and a 6-year-old child, said AFSC Denver program director Jennifer Piper. But she was not sure how many people were detained in total, she added, because her organization was initially unaware that ICE entered and exited the building through its garage in unmarked vehicles with tinted windows.

She spoke to a crowd of more than 30 people on Thursday afternoon outside the courthouse during a news conference called by immigrant rights advocates to provide updates on the latest ICE activity. As passerby on lunch break walked along the sidewalk, attendees stood holding pro-immigrant signs, including one that read: “ICE out of our court now!”

ICE didn’t immediately respond to a request to confirm how many people were detained at the courthouse since last Thursday and provide information on why they were picked up.

The Denver Post first reported about ICE arrests at Denver Immigration Court on May 30, after a family of three was detained by federal officers. According to Emily Brock, the deputy managing attorney at the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, the family’s removal case had been dismissed by the judge just before the three members’ arrests.

In Colorado, ICE officers are prohibited from making civil arrests in or around state courthouses. However, federal courts aren’t governed by that state law passed in 2020.

AFSC began its court watch on May 27, with volunteers stationed there throughout the day. Piper said they witnessed ICE agents in plainclothes on the third and eight floors of the building, along with three vans from the GEO Group — a private prison company in charge of the ICE facility in Aurora — standing by.

Piper is unsure where those detainees have been brought. She argued that none of the facilities in Colorado can accommodate migrant children.

“We don’t know where they are,” Piper said. “We don’t know where these migrant children are.”

She said her group also saw ICE officers attempt to detain six African immigrants, but a lawyer and organizational volunteers were able to prevent their arrests. She noted that people represented by attorneys fared better during these enforcement actions because they had legal representation to advocate for them.

Alternatively, “all of the people that we witnessed being detained were people that don’t have a lawyer,” Piper said.

One immigration lawyer, Hans Meyer, said the level of the agency’s enforcement remains unclear due to lack of communication.

But he confirmed that “ICE is conducting enforcement operations in state and local courthouses,” Meyer said at the news conference. “It is absolutely breaking state law in the process. There’s no question about that.”

He called for local elected officials, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, civil rights organizations and law firms to fight ICE enforcement at courthouses until the agency is in compliance.

A spokesperson for Weiser didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the call to action.

As the voices of speakers at the news conference echoed through speakers, people on the street exhibited a range of reactions. One man walking by the gathering yelled, “God bless y’all.” Later, a passing woman shouted, “Go home!”

_____