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DENVER (KDVR) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is lashing back at statements made by Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, among others, who said that federal agents had mistakenly arrested a father and his two children and subjected the trio to verbal and physical abuse.
The case centers around Fernando Jaramillo-Solano, 45, of Colombia, who was taking his 12- and 15-year-old children to school when they were all detained by ICE on Oct. 27.
Immigrant rights groups, ICE disagree on status
The Colorado Immigration Rights Coalition said that the family has a fully-documented, pending asylum case and has strong ties to the community, built over the last 18 months. ICE says Jaramillo-Solano came into the country without documentation on Dec. 22, 2024, near San Diego.
On Wednesday, ICE responded to a statement from one of Colorado’s two Democratic senators, demanding that ICE release Jaramillo-Solano and his two children.
“Last Friday, an ICE official admitted that they had mistakenly arrested a father and his 12- and 15-year-old children while driving to school,” Bennet said on social media. “Recent testimony from the family indicates they were subjected to verbal and physical abuse and dehumanizing conditions while detained in Durango. Despite the confirmation that they arrested the wrong person; the father and his kids are currently being held in a Texas detention facility.
“I demand that ICE release the family immediately,” Bennet continued. “As long as ICE disregards due process and treats community members with indefensible cruelty, our rights, liberties and safety are at risk.”
“Let’s set the record straight,” ICE said in a statement provided to FOX31. “ICE did not mistakenly arrest anyone.”
The agency said that it had “conducted a targeted enforcement operation” during which agents saw Jaramillo-Solano and determined he “matched the description of the individual targeted for arrest.” After initiating the traffic stop, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations agents “quickly determined that Jaramillo-Solano was not the intended target but was an illegal alien nonetheless.”
Sen. Michael Bennet’s Office offered the following statement in response to ICE:
“Senator Bennet has been committed to comprehensive immigration reform since he first came to the Senate. In Colorado, we believe in an immigration system that not only upholds the rule of law but also reflects our heritage as a nation of immigrants. President Trump’s immigration policies continue to do the opposite and are cruel and inhumane,” a spokesperson for the senator told FOX31.
FOX31 also reached out to Rep. Jeff Hurd’s office late Thursday evening about the ongoing matter. Hurd represents Colorado’s 3rd district, which includes Durango. FOX31 did not receive an immediate response, but will update this report if a statement is received.
ICE asserts mother ‘refused’ to take children
Most of the community’s concern has centered on the two children, with many asking for information on their whereabouts and why they weren’t returned to their mother.
“Despite efforts by ERO officers to reunite Jaramillo-Solano’s children with their mother, she refused to retrieve them. As a result, Jaramillo-Solano and his children were lawfully taken into custody,” ICE told FOX31.
“Assertions that these arrests were mistaken or violated due process are baseless and misleading,” ICE continued. “Jaramillo-Solano and his children will remain in ICE custody pending their hearing before an immigration judge, which constitutes their due process under the law.”
The city of Durango said in a press release on Oct. 28 that city police officers had requested “on multiple occasions” to facilitate the release of the children to their mother, but were unsuccessful.
The department also heard on Tuesday that one of the children “may have been in distress and potentially experiencing abuse.” Officers attempted to bring food and conduct a welfare check on the children, but were denied entry by federal agents.
Compañeros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center has been advocating for the father and his two children, joining in a peaceful protest outside the facility in Durango that ICE contracts for use and sharing a statement last week from the family that said they had endured 36 hours in a “dungeon.”
“They did not put us in a holding room,” Jaramillo-Solano told the nonprofit. “They put us in a dungeon. There was no daylight. There was no air. There was no rest. They gave us potato chips and water. That is all we had. Every time I asked what would happen to my children, or if they could have something to eat, they hit us. They told me I did not matter. They told me my children did not matter.”
ICE denied that officers had subjected Jaramillo-Solano and his two children to any verbal or physical abuse, calling the claims “absurd.”
“The facts are that ICE runs one of the most accountable immigration detention systems in the world, and we reject these false claims outright. ICE treats every individual with respect and dignity, especially vulnerable populations,” ICE told FOX31.
It’s not the first time detainees have spoken about poor conditions in ICE detention: A 19-year-old college student who was detained in the ICE contract facility in Aurora called the conditions there a “nightmare,” and said that guards treated her better when they realized she spoke English.
The federal agency instead pointed to the protestors for “reckless and dangerous behavior” that involved screaming, throwing objects and striking ICE vehicles as officers took the children to a “secure location in a timely manner.”
On Oct. 29, ICE said that Jaramillo-Solano had been transferred to a facility in Dilley, Texas. The night before, protestors held a vigil outside the facility. During the gathering, a video was captured of a 57-year-old woman being carried and thrown to the ground by one of the ICE agents. That incident is now under investigation by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“The safety and well-being of individuals arrested by ICE are paramount to the agency’s mission of enforcing immigration laws and removing criminal illegal aliens and immigration violators,” ICE said. “If Senator Bennet devoted more time to understanding immigration law and less to engaging in political grandstanding, he would recognize that ICE is steadfastly fulfilling its critical mission of enforcing immigration laws to uphold the security and sovereignty of this nation.”
Compañeros said that a preliminary response was expected Thursday in court concerning a parole application for Jaramillo-Solano and his two children.
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Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
