Colorado Judge Limits ICE Warrantless Arrests, Requiring Individual Flight‑Risk Findings

Overview

• U.S. District Senior Judge R. Brooke Jackson found a pattern of unlawful warrantless arrests and ruled ICE may detain without a warrant only after an individualized assessment that a person is likely to flee.
• The preliminary injunction requires probable cause of an immigration violation and probable cause the person would escape before a warrant could be obtained.
• The court certified a Warrantless Arrest Class covering people arrested in Colorado since January 20, 2025 without a pre‑arrest, individualized flight‑risk assessment.
• The order mandates better documentation and random review of arrest warrants, and it provides remedies for plaintiffs that may include removing ankle monitors and returning bonds.
• DHS, through Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, condemned the decision as an activist ruling and denied allegations of racial profiling, as lawyers work out compliance‑monitoring details in the coming weeks.