This report aims to document the historic expansion of detention under the Trump administration. It details not only the policy changes which have led to ICE detention reaching the highest level on record, but also their impact on the individuals who have found themselves locked into it. The growth in immigration detention, and the spectacle which has accompanied the construction and use of new facilities — coupled with the near-elimination of any transparency into the operation and use of those facilities — is the backbone of President Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

As this report reveals, rather than focusing on serious public safety threats and flight risks, the Trump administration is primarily using detention to pressure people into giving up their chance to remain in the United States.

RMIAN has an immediate opening for a full-time Supervising Attorney in the Detention Program. The Supervising Attorney will manage a team of attorneys providing direct representation to individuals detained at the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado, and will provide direct representation to noncitizens at the facility who are selected without regard to the merits of their cases under RMIAN’s universal representation model. 

This position is meant for a seasoned immigration attorney with experience managing others. The Supervising Attorney’s time will be split between a robust caseload and supervision of other attorneys, so experience practicing removal defense immigration law, preferably in a detained setting, along with a strong desire and commitment to managing others, is vital.

RMIAN joined more than 400 other civil rights and human rights organizations to call on Congress to rein in the escalating violence and lawlessness endangering our communities.

Arrest rates through mid-October increased fourfold over 2024

Monique Sherman, the Detention Program Managing Attorney at the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, said that the data matches her expectations, and that a much larger share of detained people she saw this year were apprehended internally — at work, home or during a traffic stop — rather than at the border.

On Monday afternoon, December 22nd, Jeannette Vizguerra-Ramirez walked out of the Aurora Immigration Detention Center into the loving arms of her family, after nine long months inside the facility.

Laura Lunn, RMIAN Director of Advocacy & Littigation, celebrated her release, saying “For decades, Jeanette has advocated for her community. When she was detained earlier this year, she needed her community to step up for her - and that is exactly what they did, showing up at vigils each week to remind her and others detained that they are not forgotten. RMIAN is honored to be a part of the team supporting Jeanette, the larger immigrant rights movement, and engaging in necessary legal battles to ensure that people can speak out without facing unlawful restrictions on their liberty and impermissible limits on their freedom of speech.” 

In 2025, a year marked by what some lawyers describe as attacks on the rule of law, a Colorado federal judge preliminarily blocked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from conducting warrantless arrests in the state without determining probable cause.

Laura Lunn, director of advocacy and litigation at the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, said that in a year when people across Colorado have been "terrorized" by mass enforcement actions and "brutal" arrests, the ruling made clear that ICE cannot conduct warrantless arrests without showing good reason.

Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network loses $1 million in federal funding cuts

“There have been major increases in immigration enforcement and detention, loss of vital legal protections, increases in fear and attacks on the immigrant community, exponential increases on removals, unlawful removals and, on top of all of that, RMIAN has seen deep losses in funding to all of our work,” Goehring said. “You’re starting with a deeply unjust and unfair process where there isn’t a whole lot of due process, and what we’ve seen is that all those hardships have been compounded because of a series of both policy and legal decisions the federal government has made.”

Enemies of the State

How the Trump Administration declared war on Venezuelan migrants in the U.S.

By Jonathan Blitzer

For 25 years, RMIAN has stood alongside immigrants and their families in Colorado—defending due process, protecting human rights, and ensuring that all people have access to justice. Because of supporters like you, RMIAN has provided free legal representation and social service support to tens of thousands of people over the past 25 years. Please donate today to ensure this impact continues! Your generosity ensures that no one faces this system alone—that loved ones have someone to represent them and to protect their rights.

This year, RMIAN proudly celebrates 25 years of providing life-changing legal representation and advocacy for immigrants in Colorado. Join us on December 3rd to commemorate this milestone and to show appreciation for our volunteers and supporters that helped make it possible!