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Denver, Boulder ignored ICE detainers for migrants with child abuse, assault arrests, House GOP report reveals
FIRST ON FOX: A blue state’s law enforcement officials are keeping illegal immigrants accused of violent crimes out of the reach of federal authorities, a new report claims.
The House Judiciary Committee, led by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, released new findings Friday in its investigation into sanctuary jurisdictions and their impact on law enforcement across the country.
The latest is a 25-page report that accuses top prosecutors in Denver and Boulder of helping illegal immigrants evade Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while also revealing for the first time the names and graphic charges against some of those whom House GOP investigators say are being shielded from President Donald Trump’s federal crackdown.
Both the district attorneys for Denver and Boulder pushed back against Republicans’ accusations.
Among the list is “Fernando Barrios-Ramirez, a Venezuelan national arrested for sexual assault on a child,” the report said.
Denver District Attorney John Walsh told Fox News Digital, “Unfortunately, in Barrios-Ramirez’s case, we were prevented from pursuing a decades-long sentence by ICE, who deported Barrios-Ramirez to Mexico over our objection, effectively setting him free.”
Walsh said his office prosecuted other cases listed in the report as well.
Another alleged criminal Denver is accused of ignoring an ICE detainer for is Juan Andres Holguin-Mendez, a Mexican national whose “criminal history also includes arrests for willful cruelty to a child, DUI, malicious mischief, possession of a controlled substance, trespassing, disturbing the peace, and evading a peace officer.”
Holguin-Mendez was arrested for damage to property, the report said.
A Venezuelan national named Diego Cano-Diaz with multiple alleged protective order violations was “arrested for aggravated assault with a weapon, resisting arrest, and assault,” the report said.
At least four illegal immigrants were arrested due to alleged domestic violence in Denver but also had their ICE detainers ignored, the report said.
In Boulder, “Mario Hernandez-Quiroz, a Mexican national arrested for child abuse and failure to appear,” was among those whose ICE detainer was ignored.
Ignoring an ICE detainer does not necessarily mean law enforcement released the accused back onto public streets. It does, however, delay potential federal deportation proceedings to ensure the accused does not stay in the U.S.
But the report did accuse district attorneys in Denver and Boulder of helping illegal immigrants suspected of criminal acts to evade ICE, including being more lenient with their treatment in order to avoid federal immigration proceedings — in effect, accusing them of letting more undocumented criminals back onto the streets.
For instance, House GOP investigators said they obtained internal documents that show the Denver Sheriff’s Department provided written explanations in a suspected illegal immigrant criminal’s preferred language that said they have “the right to refuse to speak to federal immigration authorities.”
DENVER MAN’S ESCAPE EXPOSES CHILLING TREN DE ARAGUA KIDNAPPING PLOT THAT LANDS TRIO IN PRISON
The report also accused Denver officials of providing insufficient notice when they do notify ICE about suspected illegal immigrant criminals.
An example highlighted in the report involved a suspected Tren de Aragua gang member, about whom ICE was given “between one and two hours’ notice to take him into custody.”
The suspected gang member, Abraham Smith Gonzalez, was subsequently released, the report said, and “as a result, when ICE officers attempted to arrest Gonzalez outside a Denver jail in 2025, he assaulted one officer.”
The report also accused both Boulder and Denver prosecutors of weighing immigration consequences when pursuing charges against an individual.
“In Boulder, District Attorney Dougherty prohibits information sharing with ICE,” the report said. “Before President Trump even took office in January 2025, Dougherty emailed Boulder defense attorneys to remind them of his office’s pro-illegal alien policies, including his office’s consideration of collateral immigration consequences.”
An excerpt that the report noted is part of Boulder County District Attorney’s Office guidance stating that attorneys “consider the immigration and other collateral consequences to a defendant in recommending dispositions.”
Both Denver and Boulder encourage suspected illegal immigrants to not cooperate with ICE unless a judicial warrant is presented, the report said.
ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL ALIEN ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING CHILDREN AFTER FAIRFAX COUNTY RELEASE: DHS
Dougherty in Boulder has already been targeted by Jordan’s probe, with the Ohio Republican subpoenaing Dougherty and accusing him of failing to sufficiently cooperate.
He told Fox News Digital in response to the report, “This report is a political stunt to sway voters before the midterm elections. My responsibility is to do justice, enhance public safety, and fight for victims. I’m not going to be distracted by political theatre or intimidated into abandoning my responsibility to protect the community and uphold the law. I am proud of our amazing and dedicated staff. They work incredibly hard to uphold the best interests of Boulder County and Colorado. It is my privilege to work alongside the outstanding women and men in the District Attorney’s Office.”
Dougherty’s office also accused committee Republicans of “intentionally” misrepresenting one individual’s case in its report that was not mentioned in this article.
“Under the Republicans’ approach, Contreras would have been released to ICE and immediately deported. That would have been a violation of state law. Also, Contreras would be free in another country with no consequences for his criminal conduct, the harm to the victim, and the risk he poses to the community,” the office said. “Under Boulder County’s approach, the Sheriff complied with state law and, ultimately, Contreras was held fully accountable by the prosecutors in our office and sent to state prison for eight (8) years. When he completes that sentence, he will then face deportation.”
Walsh told Fox News Digital, “The men and women of the Denver District Attorney’s Office work tirelessly every day and every night to protect community safety and have helped achieve historic reductions in crime in Denver. Our immigration collateral consequences policy closely tracks the guidance of the United States Supreme Court in Padilla v. Kentucky, and not only complies with the law, but advances community safety by ensuring that convictions are not subsequently overturned.”
“The Denver Sheriff’s Department is responsible for addressing ICE detainers and does so in full compliance with Colorado law and the requirements of the United States Constitution,” Walsh said.
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