In a significant development on Tuesday, a federal judge in Colorado issued a ruling that impacts the procedures of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Judge R. Brooke Jackson declared that ICE agents are restricted from arresting undocumented immigrants without a warrant, unless there is a clear indication that the individuals are at risk of fleeing.

This ruling emerged from a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, alongside attorneys representing four individuals. These include asylum-seekers who were apprehended by ICE earlier this year without proper warrants, amid efforts by former President Donald Trump’s administration to intensify immigration enforcement.

The legal action claims that immigration agents were engaging in the arbitrary detention of Latino individuals. These actions allegedly aimed to fulfill the administration’s immigration objectives without adhering to the necessary legal protocols for detention.

In the course of these operations, federal agents conducted raids, such as one at an apartment complex in east Denver, intensifying the scrutiny over ICE’s practices.

Judge Jackson highlighted that each of the plaintiffs involved in the case had deep-rooted connections within their communities. He noted that no reasonably informed agent could have genuinely believed that these individuals posed a flight risk, which would have justified bypassing the warrant requirement.

Under federal law, immigration agents must have probable cause to believe someone is in the country illegally and likely to flee before a warrant can be obtained, in order to arrest them without one, Jackson said.

Immigration agents are also required to document the reasons for arresting someone.

The judge said the plaintiffs had long ties to their communities and no reasonable agent could have believed they were likely to flee before obtaining a warrant. (Getty Images)

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin called Jackson’s decision an “activist ruling” and said the department follows the law.

“Allegations that DHS law enforcement engages in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE,” she said in a statement.

Jackson’s ruling is similar to a separate decision issued earlier this year in a case brought by the ACLU in California involving arrests by immigration agents. The federal government has appealed that ruling.

Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin called the judge’s decision an “activist ruling.” (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Another judge prohibited immigration agents from targeting people based solely on factors such as their race, language, job or location after concluding that agents were carrying out indiscriminate stops. The Supreme Court lifted the restraining order in that case in September.

“The Supreme Court recently vindicated us on this question elsewhere, and we look forward to further vindication in this case as well,” McLaughlin said, suggesting the administration would appeal Jackson’s ruling.