Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser launched a complaint system for federal agent misconduct in late January. His office received 180 complaints over the past six months. The office has initiated zero prosecutions.
The office won’t publish the data. Complaints get reviewed and “when appropriate, referred to relevant state or federal oversight bodies.” Weiser acknowledged the state has no direct authority over federal agents but calls documenting patterns “a critical first step toward accountability.”
Gladis Ibarra disagrees. The co-executive director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition—the organization responsible for most of those 180 complaints—told CPR News her take: “This is a campaign stunt.” Her organization has been documenting federal agent misconduct for decades. “CIRC has been doing this for decades, and it shouldn’t just be on the nonprofits and community members to hold people accountable,” she said.
Ibarra worries the system gives false hope to community members already hesitant to file complaints. The complaint form warns submitters that filing does not guarantee state authorities will investigate or act on allegations.
Weiser is running for governor against U.S. Senator Michael Bennet. The primary is in June. On January 27, Bennet announced legislation to impose guardrails on the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The proposed legislation would restrict DHS operations to enforcement of immigration law, enhance hiring and training standards for federal immigration agents, reinstate policies ensuring congressional access to detention facilities, and limit DHS’s ability to unilaterally expand detention facilities.
Bennet voted against the continuing resolution extending DHS funding because it failed to overhaul ICE or place enforceable limits on use of force. He introduced six amendments to the FY26 DHS appropriations bill prohibiting officers from wearing masks while requiring visible identification, barring enforcement at sensitive locations, and protecting children and families.
Federal immigration agents in Colorado arrested 3,522 people from January 20, 2025, to October 15, 2025—up from 843 during the same period in 2024, according to University of California, Berkeley data. Thirty-seven percent had prior criminal convictions, down from 61 percent in 2024.
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in November calling ICE’s warrantless arrests “unlawful” and restricting how federal immigration agents can make arrests in Colorado. Lawyers with the ACLU of Colorado filed an amended complaint in February alleging ICE continues violating the order.
Weiser sued the federal government 51 times in the last year. He recently joined multistate lawsuits challenging Trump administration funding cuts to public health programs. He told Denver7 the complaint form is “part of the state’s ongoing work to protect Colorado against the ongoing harmful and illegal actions of the federal government.”
The complaint system asks Coloradans to document problems the attorney general’s office can’t prosecute and won’t publicize. Bennet’s legislation would impose restrictions federal agents would have to follow. Colorado’s Democratic gubernatorial primary will determine which approach voters prefer: collecting complaints that produce no enforcement, or pursuing statutory limits on federal authority.
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