Prosecutors and legal experts say suspects and witnesses are deported without justice being served.
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DENVER – Some suspects in violent assaults and sexual offences are fleeing American justice as they are deported before they go to trial, according to prosecutors and legal experts across the country.
In one suburb of Denver County, district attorneys had to shelve or fall at least six criminal cases as immigrants and customs enforcement agencies detained or deported the suspect before they could indict them.
In another Denver case, a man suspected of attempted murder was released. The suspect worked on ice agents to try to detain him outside the prison.
And in Boston, the judge was forced to stop accusing a man accused of using a fake name on his driver’s license after ICE detained him mid-trial and refused to return him. Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Haden called Ice’s actions “troubling and extremely reckless.”
All over the country, prosecutors, defense attorneys and legal observers say they have seen an increase in ICE agents who have opted to deport criminal suspects rather than detain them and produce them for local lawsuits.
“It’s not only undermining the judicial system, it also affects the safety of our communities,” said Adams County District Attorney Brian Mason, who serves as a suburban area northeast of Denver.
These rapid deportations mean that some innocent people are denied the opportunity to clear their names in US courts. For victims of crime, that means they never see the satisfaction of their assailants behind the bar.
And that could be de-safe for all Americans, legal experts say it’s when people who don’t respect the criminal history and law return to the US and commit more crimes.
“My fear is that people will be deported, essentially avoid criminal prosecution, avoid sneaking up inside, live under the radar, are not responsible, have no consequences for their actions, and they could commit more crimes against other victims,” Mason said.
Laken Riley Act Effect
Legal experts say the increase appears to be partially driven by the new federal Laken Riley Act, which calls for ICE to detain people living illegally in the United States after being charged or charged with certain crimes such as theft and shoplifting. Riley’s Law, Named after a Georgia nursing student killed by immigrants in 2024, Experts do not need deportation.
That means those people are fleeing prosecution for assault, domestic violence or theft. In other instances, prosecutors stopped the lawsuit as ice ousted the witness. The targeted people are accused of living illegally in the United States.
In another Massachusetts case, Ice detained a man facing state driving charges, refused to produce him for his trial, urging the ACLU to ask a federal judge to intervene. The judge ordered ICE to give birth to a man, but it turns out he is not a crime of the state charge. He was then reverted to ice custody, which was a previous procedure.
President Donald Trump has campaigned on a tough new immigration policy, and ICE agents across the country have been doing some high-profile detention work. The president says it is primarily aimed at violent criminals and gang members. He then rubbed against judicial restrictions placed on deportation of targeted people as they were charged but never convicted.
“Murderers, drug dealers, gang members, and even mentally insane people will build homes in our country and wreak havoc on us like we’ve never seen before,” Trump posted on social media in late April. “It’s impossible to get tried for millions of people. We know who the criminals are, and we have to fast them from America!”
Ice as an escape driver
Professor Michael Kagan, who runs an immigration clinic at the University of Nevada Las Vegas Law School, said the risk of deportation – professional policy ahead of time, creates a two-tier judicial system.
“If you think it’s worth jailing a citizen who committed a crime, it’s very difficult to justify not jailing a non-citizen who has been convicted of the same crime,” said Kagan, whose clinic provides legal assistance to those facing deportation.
Kagan said some immigration experts are beginning to call ICE “away driver” because they believe the new system is ripe for criminal abuse.
Nicholas Repucci, Chief Public Defender of Charlottesville, Virginia, He says there is already less motivation for immigration.
“It has had a very significant negative impact not only on criminal defendants, but also on the complainant or people who have been victimized by the crime,” he said. “Essentially, my options make it less likely that people will come to court to make their mistakes right.”
Colorado District Attorney Mason said he previously worked with ICE agents to secure what is known as the U-Visa. Now, the collaboration is gone, he said.
“If you’re afraid that a victim of a crime will come to Adams County Courthouse, if you’re afraid that she’ll be detained in a parking lot by the ice, I can’t prosecute that case,” he said. “It’s not only undermining the judicial system, it also affects the safety of our communities.”
