By Tim Macdonald, Legal Director
In the first few months of the new Trump administration, there have been countless attacks against our immigrant community members. These aggressive executive orders and actions have been cruel, and many have been unconstitutional — but none of them have been a surprise. We’ve been preparing for the impacts of a potential Trump presidency since the summer of 2024, and have been able to move swiftly in response to the administration’s maneuvers.
DBU v. Trump
On April 7th, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to lift a nationwide restraining order that a lower court had imposed to halt President Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act (“AEA”), which had been invoked to justify the removal of hundreds of people, including at least 11 Coloradans.
In response, ACLU of Colorado — in collaboration with the Rocky Mountain Immigration Advocacy Network (“RMIAN”) and ACLU National — filed an emergency class action lawsuit on behalf of two Venezuelan men who had been detained at the GEO detention center and were at risk of removal under the AEA. These men and the class they sought to represent feared they would be deported and sent to the CECOT prison in El Salvador under the AEA even though the government had no statutory or constitutional power to do so.
On April 14th, the U.S. District Court granted an emergency motion preventing the government from using the AEA and, the following week, held an emergency hearing. After the hearing, the court issued an order granting a temporary restraining order (“TRO”). Under the TRO, the government was prohibited from removing any people who might be subjected to the AEA from Colorado. The government appealed the decision, but the Tenth Circuit Court denied the government’s motion to stay the TRO. On May 6th, the District Court granted a preliminary injunction. This prevents the government from “detaining, transferring, or removing” any noncitizens in Colorado under the AEA.
John Doe, et al. v. Schwalb, et al.
Colorado landlords are forbidden from disclosing or threatening to disclose information about their tenants’ perceived immigration or citizenship status. In January, 2025, an Aurora-based landlord violated this law, threatening to report his Venezuelan tenants if they did not immediately vacate their home.
On January 28, the ACLU of CO filed a lawsuit on the tenants’ behalf seeking a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) and a preliminary injunction (“PI”). The next day, the Court issued a TRO and PI enjoining the landlord from disclosing information about the clients’ immigration status, or continuing to harass and intimidate them.
ACLU v. U.S. ICE
This spring, the Trump administration announced they would be seeking up to $45 billion worth of proposals to expand immigration detention across the country. In March 2025, the ACLU submitted a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request to the Denver ICE field office seeking the responsive proposals to contract possible facilities in the area. ICE ignored the requests, prompting the ACLU to take legal action. The lawsuit demands that ICE comply with the FOIA request and immediately turn over the requested records.
This action is one of many lawsuits filed by the ACLU and our affiliates seeking information about ICE’s plans to expand detention and achieve Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
J.P.P. v. D.H.S.
In March, a young man in the Cedar Run Apartments in Denver was detained after his family’s apartment was subject to a violent, SWAT-style raid. J.P.P. (an alias) is a Venezuelan asylum seeker with no criminal record, and his family had been complying with all standard immigration procedures to date. On March 31, J.P.P.’s counsel provided the ACLU of Colorado with information that made us fear that the government was preparing to imminently render him to the El Salvadoran prison, CECOT, or another third-country where he was at risk, with no due process or notice, as they have done with many other Venezuelan asylum seekers.
We filed emergency litigation seeking a TRO and PI to prevent J.P.P.’s removal to El Salvador or another third country without due process. In response, the government agreed that they would not remove J.P.P. to any third country and that he was protected by a nationwide injunction in another case (D.V.D.) from such removals. With the government’s concession, the judge denied our request for a temporary restraining order, saying that J.P.P. was already protected by the TRO issued in D.V.D. In the D.V.D. case, the government had in fact violated the nationwide injunction by rendering other individuals to third countries without due process, but fortunately for our client, he was not subject to such unlawful rendition after our lawsuit.
J.P.P. was however deported to Venezuela, his home country — instead of being subjected to indefinite detention at the CECOT prison in El Salvador, as we had initially feared. Following his deportation, and the extension of the nationwide injunction in D.V.D. providing protection from third country renditions without due process, the ACLU dismissed J.P.P.’s case.
Letters to Local Enforcement Agencies
In addition to legal filings, the ACLU of Colorado has been seeking to ensure that local law enforcement agencies comply with their statutory and constitutional obligations to protect civil rights. In December, ACLU of Colorado sent letters to all Colorado sheriffs demanding that these agencies refuse to use resources to further federal raids, detention, or other anti-immigrant rights movements in a way that violates Colorado law or the constitution. In Colorado, state laws prohibit specific kinds of collaboration with ICE. In the letter, I made it clear that Colorado law restricts state and local law enforcement involvement in federal immigration enforcement — and that any local law enforcement involvement would leave officers exposed to personal liability under Colorado law.
In January, ACLU of Colorado, in partnership with RMIAN, sent a letter to all Colorado school districts to provide information about the legal responsibilities of school districts to protect their students — including protecting the civil rights of their immigrant students.
Nash v. Mikesell
When we sent letters to law enforcement agencies reminding them that local involvement with ICE enforcement could leave them exposed to litigation, we were ready to back our words with legal actions. We recently won the first court action in such a case.
In this case, the ACLU of Colorado successfully challenged the Teller County Sheriff's years-long practice of illegally holding immigrants in jail beyond when state law would otherwise require their release under an agreement between Teller County and ICE.
This lawsuit was originally filed in 2019 by the ACLU of Colorado on behalf of five Teller County taxpayers because many people had been illegally held due to ICE documents that had not been signed by a judge.
On January 29, the Teller County District Court entered final judgment in the case, determining that the Sheriff’s detentions were illegal under state law. In a joint stipulation filed with the court, Sheriff Miksell agreed that his office has no authority to deny or delay the release of any individual detained in Teller County jails on the basis of an ICE form, and agreed to change the jail’s internal policies accordingly.
Creating a Rapid Response Network
In January, the ACLU of Colorado created a Civil Rights Immigration Rapid Response Task Force (“CRIT”) to serve as a statewide network of civil rights and immigration attorneys available to be deployed to defend civil rights and civil liberties during immigration enforcement raids. These attorneys provide information about civil rights and protections to people during their interactions with law enforcement, and to document any potentially illegal enforcement actions.
We have been providing training to these lawyers focused on strategies for communication with police and immigration enforcement during raids, working with community members, and managing personal safety during raids. We continue to work with the Colorado Rapid Response Network to coordinate the deployment of attorneys during raids.