Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza, the driver of a semi-truck that caused a fatal crash on Highway 285 in June 2024, was released from Jefferson County’s Detention Center on Sunday morning only to be immediately detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Cruz-Mendoza, a citizen of Mexico, had been sentenced to roughly one year in jail for his role in the crash. It was revealed that he was in the U.S. illegally at the time of the accident and had been ordered to be deported to Mexico multiple times.
ICE officials took Cruz-Mendoza into custody in the detention center lobby and transported him to the ICE Denver Contract Detention Facility pending deportation proceedings. According to ICE, Cruz-Mendoza has been removed from the United States 12 times and voluntarily returned to Mexico four times since 2002.
The operation to detain Cruz-Mendoza required a significant number of agents due to local law enforcement policies in Colorado that do not allow ICE agents to transport inmates directly from jail facilities. This limitation forces federal agents to wait for inmates outside the facility, diverting resources from other enforcement activities.
The case highlights the challenges faced by ICE in enforcing immigration laws when local law enforcement agencies limit their access to inmates for deportation proceedings. The circumstances surrounding Cruz-Mendoza’s case demonstrate the complexities of enforcing immigration laws and the need for collaboration between federal and local authorities to address immigration issues effectively.
