Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) led Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and Representatives Diana DeGette (CO-01), Joe Neguse (CO-02), and Jason Crow (CO-06) in pressing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons for answers following alarming reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is secretly holding detained individuals in small holding cells at Colorado ICE field offices for days — and in some cases weeks — at a time, with little to no oversight from Members of Congress. These rooms are designed to be used for only a few hours and do not contain beds or appropriate facilities for long-term detention.

According to information obtained by the Data Deportation Project through a Freedom of Information Act request, more than 3,000 individuals were held in ICE hold rooms in Colorado between January and October 2025. Reports indicate that detainees ranged in age from as young as one year old to as old as 91, with some confined in these temporary holding spaces for as long as 39 days.

In the letter, the Lawmakers wrote: “We write to express our deep concern regarding reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) expanding its detention capacity in Colorado by keeping detained individuals in “holding cells” in ICE field offices for days at a time. Detaining people for extended periods of time in small, confined rooms that are meant to be a temporary holding space goes against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy, and we demand these actions stop immediately.”

The Lawmakers continued: “In recent weeks, there have been growing reports of ICE keeping detained individuals in holding cells within ICE field offices, which don’t have beds or adequate resources for long-term detention…We are deeply concerned about the reports that ICE kept an individual in the holding cells for as long as 39 days – well beyond the three-day limit established by the DHS in June, which we also view as unacceptable.”

The full text of the letter can be found HERE and below:

Dear Acting Director Lyons, 

We write to express our deep concern regarding reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) expanding its detention capacity in Colorado by keeping detained individuals in “holding cells” in ICE field offices for days at a time. Detaining people for extended periods of time in small, confined rooms that are meant to be a temporary holding space goes against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy, and we demand these actions stop immediately. 

In recent weeks, there have been growing reports of ICE keeping detained individuals in holding cells within ICE field offices, which don’t have beds or adequate resources for long-term detention.  Reporting indicates that an individual was kept in these rooms for as long as 39 days. According to data obtained by the Deportation Data Project through the Freedom of Information Act, between January and October 2025, more than 3,000 individuals were held in these locations. 

DHS has recognized the safety risks of keeping individuals in these holding cells for extended periods of time. Prior to June 2025, ICE did not allow individuals to be left in these holding cells for more than 12 hours. In June, an internal policy was updated to allow individuals to be held for up to three days.  We are deeply concerned about the reports that ICE kept an individual in the holding cells for as long as 39 days – well beyond the three-day limit established by the DHS in June, which we also view as unacceptable. 

We strongly oppose the practice of detaining individuals for more than 12 hours in holding cells and demand your response to the following questions by March 27th. 

1. Is ICE keeping individuals in holding cells in ICE field offices for more than 12 hours at a time? If so, please provide:

a) The number of individuals who have been detained in a holding cell for more than 12 hours,

b) The countries of origin of those individuals,

c) The locations they were held at,

d) The length of time that those individuals were in a holding cell, and 

e) If any US citizens were among those detained in the holding cells.  

2. If individuals are being held in ICE field office holding cells for more than 12 hours, what safety precautions are being taken to ensure that the detainee’s nutritional, medical, and hygiene needs are being met? Please provide the record logs of when agents supplied food, water, and any necessary hygiene and medical assistance to individuals detained for more than 12 hours.

3. When an individual is held in a holding cell, what documentation procedures does ICE follow to ensure that the detainee’s location is tracked? 

4. When an individual is held in a holding cell, how does ICE ensure that their legal representation can access them? 

5. Have any individuals in ICE custody in Colorado been held in a location that is not the Aurora Detention Facility or an ICE Field Office in Colorado? If yes, please provide the number of individuals held, the locations of the warehouses where individuals were held, and a copy of the contracts that ICE has with those locations. 

6. Under Colorado HB23-1100, local government entities are authorized to provide health and safety resources and sanitation services to individuals held in detention. How is ICE ensuring that holding cells in field offices comply with local public health and environmental codes? Specifically, what is the protocol for allowing County Health Departments to conduct inspections for sanitation, food safety, and infectious disease control at these locations? 

Rep. Pettersen, alongside Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper, recently demanded that DHS immediately reverse course and abandon plans for a new ICE detention facility in Hudson, Colorado. This would increase ICE detention capacity in Colorado drastically from around 1,500 beds to more than 2,700 beds.

Pettersen has consistently voted against Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda, including opposing over $45 billion in funding for immigration enforcement in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” She also supports legislation to require DHS and ICE officers to clearly identify themselves during enforcement actions and has demanded accountability from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, including calling for Noem’s impeachment.