U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement press release...
DENVER, CO - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) filed a detainer July 14 with the Arapahoe County Jail on a convicted felon accused of assaulting a woman on the High Line Canal Trail in Aurora, Colorado.
Unlawfully present Guatemalan national, Julio Andres Gonzalez-Palacios, 23, was arreste for assault and burglary July 9 by the Denver Police Department.
On July 10, the Denver Justice Center refused to honor the immigration detainer and released Gonzalez-Palacio back into the community to re-offend.
After his release, Gonzalez-Palacios allegedly attacked a woman exercising on the High Line Canal Trail. Gonzalez-Palacios is back in custody of the Arapahoe County Jail, charged with assault with a deadly weapon (He reportedly hit a woman with a board.).
“This was a completely preventable crime,” said John Fabbricatore, field office director, ERO Denver. “Gonzalez-Palacios could have been safely transferred to ICE custody and he may have been removed from the country, but due to Colorado’s misguided sanctuary law, law enforcement agencies are no longer able to work with us to keep repeat offenders off the streets.”
Gonzalez-Palacios has several convictions in multiple jurisdictions around the Denver area since 2017. During that time he has entered and been released from local custody back into the community on multiple occasions.
His past convictions include theft, assault, failure to appear and trespassing.
Gonzalez-Palacios entered the country through Orlando, Florida, as a non-immigrant visitor with permission to remain in the U.S. until June 3, 2017. He failed to depart in accordance with the terms of his admission.
The Colorado sanctuary law enacted in 2019 prohibits a law enforcement officer from arresting or detaining an individual solely on the basis of a civil immigration detainer despite any criminal charge or conviction the individual may have.
