ICE Denver Ends Re-Arrest Policy After 18 Detainees Recaptured

Nathan Rasper, the acting director of the Denver Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office, confirmed Monday that the agency has ended its practice of re-arresting immigrants immediately after they are released from detention. Rasper testified in a packed Denver courtroom that he ordered the policy in October to fix paperwork errors in specific cases. He said he did not intend to violate court orders.

The policy began after U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte Sweeney noticed that a man she had ordered released was re-arrested in late October. Sweeney summoned Rasper to explain the practice. Rasper was appointed acting field director on Oct. 14. He told the court that internal legal advisors told him the re-arrests were a fix for technical errors in initial arrest documents.

Government attorneys disclosed Monday that at least 18 people were re-arrested between late October and early November. This number is four higher than what officials initially told the court last week. Court records show that several of these individuals were shown or given a new warrant as they were led out of the Aurora detention facility. They were then marched back inside by waiting ICE agents. One detainee told reporters that he was hit repeatedly during his re-arrest.

Kevin Traskos, the civil division chief for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado, also appeared in court. He confirmed the policy has ceased but acknowledged that at least one other person was re-arrested after Judge Sweeney held a hearing on the matter last week. Traskos distanced his office from a statement made by a Department of Homeland Security representative. That unnamed official had claimed earlier that ICE could re-arrest people even after a judge ordered their release and called opposing views sabotage. Traskos said his office did not know the statement was being submitted.

Judge Sweeney said she is considering finding the government in contempt for re-arresting the man she had released. She noted that she has received notes from detainees describing them as terrified. She stated that the re-arrest policy has instilled a new level of fear at the Aurora facility that is completely inappropriate. She said she will issue an order soon on whether to proceed with contempt proceedings.

Other officials in the district have also scrutinized ICE's actions. U.S. District Judge Nina Wang said last week that she believes ICE violated her release orders by requiring immigrants to wear GPS monitors. She directed government attorneys to explain why they should not be held in contempt. In a separate lawsuit, U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson has ruled that many of ICE's warrantless arrests have violated the law. Jackson found that the agency continued to illegally arrest people after his initial ruling.

Liz Jordan from the University of Denver and Tim Macdonald, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, asked Judge Sweeney to allow them to lodge more arguments against the agency's practices. Macdonald is part of a lawsuit challenging ICE's warrantless arrests. Jordan told the court that the 18 re-arrests in the district were not an isolated incident. She argued the court should not treat the re-arrests as an accident.