Federal judge cracks down on ICE, rules agents in violation of limits on warrantless arrests

Trump touts immigration crackdown, economy & Venezuela

President Donald Trump marked one year of his second term in the White House. Trump touted his accomplishments of his new term. Trump started the briefing by holding up mugshots of some criminals his administration has arrested in Minnesota: "Many of them murderers... do you want to live with these people?"

A federal judge has ruled that immigration officers in Colorado have violated his order limiting when they can arrest people without a warrant.

ICE in Colorado violated order limiting warrantless arrests

What they're saying:

On Tuesday, U.S. District Senior Judge R. Brooke Jackson ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents violated his November order that barred them from arresting anyone without a warrant unless they had probable cause to believe a person is in the country illegally and likely to escape before officers can get a warrant. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol Terminal C at LaGuardia Airport on March 24, 2026 in New York, New York. (Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Jackson found that ICE agents carried out arrests "without individualized, pre-arrest probable cause determinations of flight risk," in violation of the court’s earlier directive.

What's next:

The judge ordered federal immigration officers authorized to conduct warrantless arrests to complete additional training on the court’s requirements within 45 days. He also directed the government to provide records documenting such warrantless arrests.

ACLU files lawsuit

The backstory:

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado last fall, when Refugio Ramirez and four others alleged that they were unlawfully arrested. 

The ACLU accused ICE of indiscriminately arresting Latinos to meet enforcement goals amid President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts and ignoring legal restrictions on who should be detained.

What they're saying:

ICE, which has appealed Jackson’s November decision, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday’s ruling.

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"This is a profoundly important decision for the rule of law and the people of Colorado," Tim Macdonald, legal director for the ACLU of Colorado, said in a statement to The Associated Press. "The court made clear that ICE is not above the law and cannot continue to violate the law."

In the last year, federal judges in Oregon, California and Washington, D.C., have also ordered immigration officers in their districts not to conduct arrests without a warrant unless there is a likelihood of escape.