Lone Colorado Judge Sides With Government On Immigration Custody Rules

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics

Chief Judge Daniel D. Domenico broke with his peers on Colorado’s U.S. District Court last week in siding with the government’s argument about the broad scope of its immigration detention authority.

In an April 15 order finding that a man was properly in custody without a bond hearing, Domenico acknowledged his view is the outlier locally and nationally.

“The majority of district courts, including all of the judges in this District who have addressed the issue, have found that detention of noncitizens similar to the petitioner under (the mandatory detention provision) is improper,” wrote Domenico, a first-term appointee of President Donald Trump. “There are legitimate arguments on both sides.”

Beginning last year, a wave of “habeas corpus” cases flooded Colorado’s federal trial court, pushing annual civil filings to more than 4,000 for seemingly the first time. Largely, the petitions challenging immigration detention stem from the federal government’s interpretation of its authority to detain people without releasing them on bond while their removal proceedings unfold.

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