Federal judge blocks Denver Public Schools from stopping ICE raids at schools

A federal judge has ruled against the Denver public schools system’s attempts to block immigration officials from carrying out raids on school grounds, marking a win for the Trump administration as it looks to ramp up its deportation efforts. 

U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico said failed to prove that a recent drop in student attendance at schools was due to the Trump administration reversing a 2021 Biden-era policy of protecting schools — and other sensitive areas like churches — from ICE raids. There are currently more than 1.4 million individuals on ICE’s final order of removal docket.

Denver Public Schools have filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and DHS Secretary for reversing the policy, claiming the district was “hindered in fulfilling its mission” to students who didn’t turn up to school for fear of immigration enforcement.  

A federal judge has ruled against the Denver public schools system’s attempts to block immigration officials from carrying out raids on school grounds, marking a win for the Trump administration as it looks to ramp up its deportation efforts.  (AP)

Besides a drop in attendance, Denver Public Schools says it has had to divert resources to respond to fear among students and families over the lifting of longtime rules.

The school system also argued that rescinding the policy had caused schools to devote time and resources to teaching students and staff how to remain safe from immigration enforcement. Denver Public Schools has trained staff on how to handle ICE officers if they show up at school, telling them to deny agents entry if they don’t have a warrant signed by a judge. 

Denver Public Schools had sought a preliminary injunction barring the federal government from making arrests at sensitive locations.

Domenico, a Trump appointee and Colorado’s former solicitor general, said that it wasn’t clear how much of the fear surrounding possible enforcement actions in schools was really due to the new rules as opposed to broader concerns of increased immigration actions.

He also pointed out that Denver Public Schools had not yet experienced any raids and noted that the head of ICE also issued a directive to its officers that immigration arrests at sensitive places still had to be approved by supervisors.

The fear over the new rules, as well as the belief that the old rules provided protection to schools, both seem to be “overstated,” Domenico said.

It wasn’t clear how much of the fear surrounding possible enforcement actions in schools was really due to the new rules as opposed to broader concerns of increased immigration actions, he said.

Domenico also denied a request that he grant a nationwide preliminary injunction forcing immigration officials to revert to the 2021 guidance.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, second from left, during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing titled “A Hearing with Sanctuary City Mayors” in Washington, D.C., on March 5, 2025.  (Anadolu via Getty Images)

Denver Public Schools issued a statement expressing disappointment with the ruling, while asserting that its lawsuit was successful in making public details of the Trump administration rules.

The lawsuit was brought by the school district, not the city of Denver, which is a sanctuary city. The lawsuit stated that there were more than 90,000 students in the  during the 2023-2024 school year, and approximately 4,000 were immigrants.

The ruling came just days after Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and the Democratic leaders of other cities were grilled by Republican members of Congress about their so-called  that they see as undermining Trump’s immigration and mass deportation efforts, as well as making such cities more dangerous. 

Since Jan. 20, ICE has arrested and of people in the U.S. illegally – most of them being criminals with convictions in the U.S. or their home countries. 

Denver has seen a massive population jump in recent years as the city predicts nearly 43,000 people have arrived in the area from the southern border, the lawsuit said. 

The ruling also comes as the Trump administration has restarted the detention of illegal alien families that have deportation orders. 

A migrant lies on the sleeping pad at a makeshift shelter in Denver, Colorado, on Jan. 13, 2023. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

Parents are now being detained, including with their children, at two ICE facilities . These are families who have already had their cases heard and have been ordered removed. 

Fox News is told ICE is now actively going into the interior of the U.S. and arresting migrant families that crossed the border illegally in years prior and have been ordered deported from the U.S. by a Justice Department immigration judge. This is known as a final order of removal, of which there are currently more than 1.4 million individuals on ICE’s docket.

Border Patrol data shows more than 2 million migrant family units were apprehended while crossing the southern border illegally during the Biden administration. 

Fox News’ Bille Melugin and Elizabeth Pritchett as well as The Associated Press contributed to this report.