Three Escaped Colorado ICE Detainees Have Been Captured

The three detainees escaped from the GEO facility in Aurora on June 16. They were all recaptured in separate locations on June 20.

By Conor McCormick-Cavanagh

June 21, 2019

Image: Amilcar Aguilar-Hernandez, 23, was captured in Colorado Springs on June 20.

Amilcar Aguilar-Hernandez, 23, was captured in Colorado Springs on June 20. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

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The three ICE detainees who escaped from the GEO detention facility in Aurora on June 16 were recaptured on Thursday, June 20. ICE officers found them in three separate locations.

Amilcar Aguilar-Hernandez, 23, Douglas Amaya-Arriaga, 18, and Carlos Perez-Rodriguez, 18, climbed a fifteen-foot fence at the facility during their escape just around noon on June 16. The immigration detention facility is run by private prison company GEO Group through a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE said in a press release that after escaping, the three men spent three days at a "safe house" in Colorado Springs. "Their goal was to earn enough money to leave Colorado. However, they were forced to split up once they were recognized," the press release said.

ICE officers captured Aguilar-Hernandez in Colorado Springs. Amaya-Arriaga was found in a suburban Denver house with another undocumented immigrant, who was arrested during Amaya-Arriaga's capture.

ICE officers found and arrested Perez-Rodriguez after he left an apartment in a large complex in Denver.

“The investigative techniques and sheer determination of our team shows that if you run, you won’t be able to hide. We will find you and bring you to justice," said John Fabbricatore, the acting Denver ICE field office director, in the press release.

The three detainees will now be prosecuted in federal court in Denver for their escape. Aguilar-Hernandez, originally from El Salvador, has a criminal conviction for felony trespassing and is a suspect in a rape case in Fort Carson. The two others, both from Honduras, had no prior criminal history.

ICE is still looking into the circumstances that led to their escape.

Despite the search for these three detainees coming to a close, ICE officers in Denver are likely to remain busy in the coming weeks. Multiple news outlets are reporting that an ICE operation targeting up to 2,000 undocumented immigrant families in ten cities, including Denver, will begin as early as Sunday, June 23. Officers will be focusing on individuals that have final orders of deportation.

Conor McCormick-Cavanagh is a former staff writer at Westword, where he covered a range of beats, including local politics, immigration and homelessness. He previously worked as a journalist in Tunisia and loves to talk New York sports; he now lives in upstate New York.

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