Tomas Aranas Fuentes was awaiting trial for a serious sexual crime — assaulting an acquaintance as she slept on the couch in his home. But as jury selection got underway in Saguache County, the court took a lunch break, and when they returned, Fuentes was gone.

He hadn’t run. He wasn’t hiding. He was snatched by federal immigration agents who then refused multiple requests from local prosecutors to return him to court for trial.

No one who arrested or tried to prosecute Fuentes has any idea where he is. They just know he is gone, thanks to the federal government.

He is just one of the dozens of people ICE has deported before they could face any consequences.

“Now, the victim doesn’t have their day in court. There are no consequences for the criminal conduct … And then they’re deported, but they remain free in another country. It’s not as though they’re serving time. When ICE portrays that deportation is a public safety, I view it as a public failure if the case is still pending,” said Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty.

Prosecutors are growing increasingly frustrated that in much of 2025 and 2026 so far, ICE is using Colorado’s criminal justice system as a veritable tip sheet of names of undocumented people — victims, witnesses and defendants — to go pick up.

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Story by Allison Sherry/CPR News
Illustrations by kevinjbeaty/Denverite