AURORA | Aurora’s police told city lawmakers Monday that an incident last year where federal ICE officials wrongly blamed Aurora police for two escaped inmates from the local GEO ICE detention facility prompted them to revise the agreement between the two governments.
Aurora police Chief Todd Chamberlain said the revision of the memorandum of understanding between Aurora police, the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement was needed after a 2025 incident in which detainees escaped from the northwest Aurora facility during a power outage, igniting public criticism and politicized claims that Aurora police failed to respond appropriately.
“That was the beginning of why we looked at this new MOU,” Chamberlain said Monday during a city council studysession. “There was a lot of discussion about how Aurora PD dropped the ball. Well, we didn’t drop the ball.”
The escape occurred sometime in the evening of March 18, 2025, at the GEO ICE facility at 3130 Oakland St. after a regional power outage. Two immigrant inmates were able to get out a side door, according to police and federal reports.
The next day, Homeland Security officials blamed Aurora police for the escapees getting away, saying that police ignored ICE requests for assistance for hours.
“This is not anything like what has been portrayed,” Chamberlain said at a press conference last year after the escape.
Aurora dispatch and police reports show that the power went out at the jail at about 9:30 p.m. “causing the doors of at least one exit to become unlocked,” police said in a statement.
Federal officials said facility staff started an emergency count when the power went out and discovered at 12:35 a.m. — three hours after the power failure — that two inmates were missing.
Aurora police records show that ICE officials did not make their first call to APD until 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, hours after the escape.
Since the escape happened approximately four hours before ICE called for police, Aurora’s watch commander determined the timeline of events did not meet the definition of a “hot” escape response, in accordance with the previous Memorandum of Understanding between ICE and APD, Aurora police spokesperson Joe Moylan told the Sentinel last year.
Homeland Security officials last year characterized the incident as a case of a local “sanctuary city” law enforcement working against efforts to detain and deport immigrants.
Chamberlain pushed back against the mischaracterisation by Homeland Security and inaccuracies in their story.
He said Monday the revised agreement makes clear how and when local police will respond to calls at the ICE detention center.
He said the new pact governing police response is focused solely on public safety, however, not immigration enforcement.
How and when police cooperate with federal immigration officials has become a widespread controversy, prompting state officials to limit how police can interact with ICE and other federal officials.
Chamberlain and Aurora City Attorney Pete Schulte said Monday the updated agreement only clarifies how local officers respond to emergencies, particularly escapes, while remaining in compliance with Colorado law.
“This is not an immigration enforcement authority,” Chamberlain said. “Our officers are not deputized. We do not enforce immigration.”
Colorado law generally prohibits local law enforcement from holding individuals on civil immigration detainers alone.
The updated pact removes rigid definitions like “hot” and “cold” escapes and instead requires supervisors to assess each situation based on real-time information, including how the escape occurred and potential risk to the public.
“If they call and say someone is running out right now, we will respond,” Chamberlain said. “But if it’s hours later, that changes everything. They could be in another city or another state.”
City officials said that an escape from the facility constitutes a criminal offense, separate from a detainee’s immigration status, which can justify a law enforcement response.
Still, Chamberlain drew a clear distinction between responding to a crime and enforcing federal immigration law.
“This has no association with immigration enforcement,” he said. “Aurora PD is not in the immigration business. We are in the public safety business.”