U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not recently conducted any large-scale raids in Denver, Colorado, on the scale of what occurred in 2019. During one operation that year, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers apprehended 63 non-citizens.1
Though even though ICE is not arresting immigrants on the scale it used to, all removable aliens or undocumented aliens remain vulnerable to being apprehended and deported at any time.
Who are “removable” aliens?
Immigrants who may have come to the United States lawfully on a visa or green card become removable if they get convicted of any of the following crimes:
- Drug crimes (except recreational possession of up to 30 grams of marijuana)
- Firearm crimes
- Domestic violence crimes (including stalking or violating a protection order)
- Other serious felonies (called “aggravated felonies”)
- Crimes involving moral turpitude (unless it was a misdemeanor committed more than 5 years after being admitted to the U.S.)
- Certain security or fraud-related crimes, such as falsely claiming U.S. citizenship
Note that non-citizens who are in the U.S. illegally (undocumented) can be removed at any time even if they never commit a criminal offense and are no threat to public safety.2
Who does ICE target?
ICE targets immigrants accused or convicted of:
ICE tends to ignore immigrants suspected of more low-level crimes like shoplifting or criminal mischief.
How do I fight deportation?’
Immigrants facing removal from the U.S. are advised to hire an experienced attorney right away to help them petition for “cancellation of removal.”
Legal residents may be able to avoid deportation if they had their green card for at least five years, lived lawfully in the U.S. for at least 7 years, and were not convicted of an aggravated felony.
Visa-holders may be able to avoid deportation if they were lawfully in the U.S. for at least 10 years, have good moral character, were not convicted of certain serious offenses, and can show that removal would cause extreme hardship to their spouse, parent, or child who is either a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.4
There are other possible ways immigrants can avoid deportation such as by I-601 Waivers, U-Visas, political asylum, voluntary departure, and prosecutorial discretion.
Where is the ICE office in Denver?
ICE’s Denver field office is located at
12445 E. Caley Avenue
Centennial, CO 80111
The phone number is (720) 873-2899. And its email is [email protected].
Where is immigration court in Denver?
Denver’s Immigration Court is located at:
1961 Stout Street, Suite 3101
Denver, CO 80294
The phone number is (303) 844-5815. And the hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
You can check your case status here or call the hotline at 1-800-898-7180 or (304) 625-2050.
How is Denver handling the migrant border crisis?
In December of 2022, Denver’s mayor declared a state of emergency due to the influx of hundreds of migrants arriving from the southern border.5
Denver is not reporting migrants to ICE or trying to expel them, but the city lacks sufficient resources to provide basic necessities. Citing lack of assistance from the federal government, the mayor has even reached out to the Archdiocese of Denver for help.6
Legal References
- ICE arrests 63 individuals in Colorado and Wyoming in latest operation targeting criminal aliens, ICE.gov (September 1, 2020). Denver officials speak out against reported ICE raids coming this weekend, Denver ABC 7 (Jun 21, 2019). Saja Hindi and Elizabeth Hernandez, ICE uses private data companies to circumvent Colorado “sanctuary” laws, new report says, Denver Post (April 22, 2022)(“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has found a way to circumvent Colorado laws limiting cooperation between the federal agency and local authorities by using information from private data brokers, according to a new report released this week by immigrant advocacy groups.”)
- 8 U.S.C. 1227. See, for example, Damaso-Mendoza v. Holder (10th Cir., ) 653 F.3d 1245
- See note 1.
- 8 U.S.C. §1229b. See, for example, Zarate-Alvarez v. Garland (10th Cir., 2021) .
- Bradford Betz, Denver mayor declares state of emergency after arrival of migrants from southern border: ‘An immense strain’, Fox News (December 15, 2022).
- Gabby Easterwood, New measures from city, state to deal with overwhelming migrant influx into Denver, FOX 31 (January 2, 2023). Katie Eastman, Denver considering extending length of donation site for recent migrants from the southern border, 9 News (January 24, 2023).
