Open borders and amnesty activists in Colorado are upset that two Mexican nationals were arrested by ICE agents while they were in the courthouse complex in Denver. Videos of the arrests surfaced, and City officials are being called upon to issue even more sanctuary protections.
A lawyer in Denver released the videos. One video shows an arrest by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer on the grounds outside the courthouse. The second arrest takes place in a doorway inside the judicial building. Hans Meyer told The Denver Post that ICE was “spitting in the face” of the city and its officials because Mayor Michael Hancock and other city officials asked the agency to halt making arrests at their courthouses.
“When we have ICE showing up and conducting courthouse arrests, brutalizing people on video in full public view, it drives everyone away from trusting local government.”
Meyer added, “ICE’s actions in our city sow terror in our immigrant communities, and it’s incumbent on us as the city and county of Denver to do something about it. And that needs to happen now.”
Although Meyer did not identify the man scuffling with officers in one of the videos as his client, it was reported that an ICE spokesman told the local publication that the man arrested was 39-year-old Alvaro-Tizro Sauceda-Malgon, an immigration fugitive. A judge issued a removal order for his deportation in 2012. He was also reported to have two misdemeanor convictions.
Another attorney with Meyer’s firm, Matthew Keller, told the Post he was just about to leave the outside plaza of the courthouse on May 5 when he heard a clamor and turned around to see three ICE agents arresting his client. Keller told the officers that he wanted to see an ICE arrest warrant for his client, 45-year-old Antonio Garcia, but they declined. Instead, he received a paper with the contact information for the agency’s public information officer. Keller told the Post, “They obviously were waiting on him. I’m not sure how they were able to identify him.” The ICE spokesman said the Mexican national had two convictions for drunk driving and thus was wanted for deportation.
While ICE officer wrestled with the resisting man, a woman can be heard pleading with local police officers to stop ICE from arresting him. “You can’t do this,” the woman yells repeatedly. “That’s not right. That’s not okay.” The man appears to resist apprehension throughout the videos.
A statement obtained by Breitbart Texas from ICE says that “Courthouses do not fall under ICE or CBP’s (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) policies concerning enforcement actions at or focused on sensitive locations.”
The Post reported that Denver’s mayor, the city council, city attorney, district attorney, school superintendent, and other officials asked local ICE officials to stop making arrests at courthouses and near schools. A spokeswoman for the mayor, Jenna Espinoza said, “We asked them to respect sensitive locations and take measures around these sensitive areas so as not to potentially put bystanders at risk, hinder the prosecution of crimes, or compromise our police-community relationship vital to public safety.” She added, “We will continue to drive a clear and unwavering message to ICE that this is not the right approach and they must find another route to enforcing immigration laws.”
Police Chief Robert White was reported to have assured the city’s residents that his officers will not be aiding ICE for immigration arrests.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.
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