Judge orders government to give exact release times for 14 re-detained immigration petitioners in Colorado

A federal judge in Denver has ordered the government to report by 8 a.m. Monday, Nov. 9, when it released 14 people in Colorado immigration habeas cases who had been taken back into custody after court-ordered releases. U.S. District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney issued the text-only order Thursday, Nov. 5, in the habeas case of a man held at the Aurora immigration detention facility.¹

The order responds to a government status report giving each case’s "Current Status" and "Subsequent Release," which, the order says, indicates that "fourteen (14) listed petitioners have been released again." Sweeney directed the government to supplement it "by providing the specific date and time on which these 14 petitioners were released following their 'Rearrest Date.'"¹

A second list is due at the same hour, "showing whether any additional petitioners have been immediately re-detained following release." It must also give each petitioner’s current status and court-ordered release date and time.¹

An additional evidentiary hearing is set for 9 a.m. Monday. Minutes of a Nov. 4 hearing state: "Denver Field Office Director Nathan Rasper is to be present."²

How the case got here

• Oct. 20: Sweeney ordered the government to show cause by Oct. 27 why the petition should not be granted; absent a response, the petitioner "shall be released from custody no later than 24 hours after the response deadline."¹
• Nov. 3: A government status report, quoted in a Sweeney order, said the petitioner "was released from immigration custody on October 27, 2026, was immediately re-detained, and remains in detention," and that the government "will not be submitting a brief that argues that the current detention is lawful." Sweeney ordered an ICE official to appear Nov. 4 to explain when, why and where the re-detention occurred.¹
• Nov. 4: After an evidentiary hearing at which an ICE assistant field office director testified, the court ordered the man released by 2 p.m. that day. The minutes say the government is "enjoined and restrained from re-detaining" him unless it shows "by clear and convincing evidence at a pre-deprivation bond hearing" that he is a flight risk or a danger to the community.² A same-day order required a list of district cases in which ICE re-detained petitioners "within 12 hours of a petitioner's release" after a court-ordered release on or since Oct. 27.¹

What was said in court

At the Nov. 4 hearing, Sweeney said, "Releasing somebody momentarily is not releasing somebody at all," Colorado Politics reported. The outlet reported that the ICE official, Assistant Field Office Director Nichole Black, testified that she had received "a direct order" to re-detain people released through habeas cases who had "some kind of criminality," and that she said she did not believe she was violating the court’s order.³

The government’s position

The Department of Homeland Security maintains that ICE complied with lawful court orders, Fox News reported. DHS said: "When an illegal alien is ordered released by a judge, that does not immunize the alien from immigration enforcement for all time." The statement continued: "ICE may seek to re-arrest the alien in a way that complies with the judicial decision. To suggest that ICE cannot do this is nothing short of sabotage." Fox News did not report that the remark was directed at any named person.⁴

The petitioner’s motion to enforce judgment was entered Nov. 6 and an amicus brief was filed Nov. 7; neither is publicly available on CourtListener.¹

What the records do not show

• The government’s Nov. 5 status report, which lists the 14 cases, is not publicly available on CourtListener, and SignalData did not review it. The records reviewed do not show when or why the 14 were re-arrested.
• SignalData did not review a transcript of the Nov. 4 hearing; courtroom remarks above are as reported by Colorado Politics.
• The orders do not say what the court will do at the Nov. 9 hearing.