On February 14, 2025, the ACLU of Colorado sent a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), demanding federal immigration authorities comply with state law and Trump Administration policy, which prohibit civil immigration arrests in Colorado. The letter was sent in response to reports of courthouse arrests executed by federal immigration authorities. 

“Both state law and the administration’s own internal policies are clear in prohibiting these kinds of arrests,” said Tim Macdonald, ACLU of Colorado Legal Director. “These ICE enforcement actions on people who are going to or from court are a direct threat to the rule of law and the functioning of the judicial system in our state. They do nothing for public safety, inflict terror on our immigrant communities, and deter victims, witnesses, defendants, litigants, and the general public from accessing Colorado’s judicial system.” 

Internal policies adopted by the Trump Administration prohibit these types of civil arrests when they violate laws of the local jurisdiction, like they do in Colorado. In 2020, the Colorado legislature passed Senate Bill 20-083 to prohibit civil courthouse arrests. This law was intended to ensure that people, regardless of immigration status, feel comfortable participating in court proceedings and investigations.  

“These courthouse arrests break with the fundamental values of our justice system and hinders public safety instead of improving it,” said Sophia Mayott-Guerrero, ACLU of Colorado Director of Advocacy and Strategic Alliances. “When the legislature passed SB20-083, our leaders made a promise to all Coloradans that courthouses — and our justice system — would work for everyone, regardless of immigration status. These arrests betray that.” 

The letter requests a response from ICE and DHS by February 20, 2025. 

DENVER – Today, an Arapahoe County District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction in an ACLU of Colorado case against Aurora landlords Avi Schwalb, Nancy Dominguez, and PHS Rent LLC. The injunction prohibits the landlords from threatening, intimidating, and harassing tenants Doe and Roe on the basis of their perceived immigration and citizenship status for the lifetime of the litigation.  

“This is welcome news for our clients. No family deserves to be harassed and threatened because of their immigration status,” said ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Tim Macdonald. “This case will not only impact their lives, but every tenant and every immigrant in the state. We’ll keep fighting for all of them.”  

The lawsuit, filed on January 28, 2025, alleges that the landlords repeatedly violated tenant protections in Colorado, including by denigrating the family’s country of origin, threatening to call immigration authorities, and even changing the apartment door locks without notice or legal proceedings in an attempt to get the family to vacate their home.  

In issuing the preliminary injunction, the court found the Plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that the landlords’ past and threatened conduct violate Colorado's Immigrant Tenant Protection Act. That law protects the rights of tenants who are made vulnerable by their perceived immigration or citizenship status. It forbids landlords from, among other things, requesting information about a tenant’s immigration or citizenship status and disclosing or threatening to disclose such information to anyone, including immigration or law enforcement. It also forbids intimidating, harassing, or retaliating against a tenant for asserting their rights. 

In addition to Macdonald, the legal team includes ACLU of Colorado Senior Staff Attorneys Annie Kurtz and Emma Mclean-Riggs. Cooperating counsel on the case include Alec P. Harris and Alexandra K. Lewis of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.