ICE is not disclosing who they arrested in Steamboat Springs on Tuesday
- Dylan Anderson
- Aug 13
- 4 min read
At least two men were arrested during an incident streamed on Facebook Live, one of several actions by immigration agents on Tuesday.
At least two people are in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention in Denver after several reported operations in and around Steamboat Springs on Tuesday, with incidents reported at a bus stop downtown, at a hotel construction site and on the property of Alpine Mountain Ranch and Club south of town.
The last of those was live-streamed on Facebook in a video that has been viewed nearly 80,000 times in 24 hours. The video shows two men being taken into custody after a traffic stop by agents with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, some of them wearing masks.
A spokesperson for ICE in Denver did not answer questions from The Yampa Valley Bugle about the agency’s efforts in Routt County on Tuesday, saying their operations across the nation are too numerous to “do research on every arrest.” Questions from the Bugle included how many people were arrested, who they were, what crimes they may have committed, where they were taken and whether there were more plans for immigration actions in the Yampa Valley.
“ICE does not release information on those arrested unless we are provided with a name, alien registration number, [date of birth] and country of origin,” said ICE spokesperson Steve Kotecki, in an email.
Jerry Hernandez, the executive director of Steamboat-based non-profit Integrated Community, said he was told the men were taken to Denver for detention, but that he does not know who they were. Hernandez said he was told about another incident in town Tuesday of three women being approached by federal agents at a bus stop on Seventh Street in Steamboat. Another video shared by a Bugle reader shows workers fleeing a construction site on Central Park Drive, where a Marriott hotel is currently being built.
Local Law Enforcement officials were not informed of any immigration related actions in motion for Tuesday, and we’re working to find information on the incidents.
The arrests that streamed live happened after ERO agents conducted a traffic stop of a tan SUV on the property of Alpine Mountain Ranch and Club. This is an action that Hernandez said they had been told agents with ICE are not allowed to do, as traffic violations are state-level offenses, not federal.
“They seem to have more powers because ICE, as far as we knew, or I’ve been told by law enforcement, we’re not able to conduct traffic stops,” Hernandez said. “This branch of ICE certainly can, it looks like, and really not show any kind of warrants or identify themselves or anything like that.”
Kotecki, the ICE spokesperson, told The Bugle that "ICE agents and officers have always been able to initiate contact through a traffic stop."
Tuesday’s actions have many in town concerned about how these arrests will impact the community. Hernandez said some of their clients are concerned about visiting to the non-profit’s office. In response, they are expanding their capacity for virtual appointments and are partnering with volunteers to help immigrants locally know their rights.
One service Integrated Community is starting to offer, Hernandez said, is paperwork outlining who could pick up their kids from school if something happened to them.
“Families are filling out paperwork so that their kids can be looked after in the event that something happened to them,” Hernandez said. “Pick kids up from school, drop them off, those kinds of things.”
Routt County Commissioner Sonja Macys said she learned of ICE’s presence in Steamboat through the Facebook video, which was sent to her by several constituents. One constituent expressed concern to her about whether their workers will show up to work on Wednesday.
“What does a day without the people who make this community work look like?” Macys asked. “We might see it real soon.”
During a break in their meeting on Tuesday, Macys said she went out to Alpine Mountain Ranch, where she spoke to a cousin of those arrested, in addition to the manager at Alpine Mountain Ranch and Club, who had questions about the legality of ICE arresting people on private Property. Macys said she did multiple drives by Dream Island Mobile Home Park on Tuesday as well, and handed out her card to residents there.
“I speak Spanish and wanted to make sure they knew that local officials had no idea this was happening, no warning,” Macys said. “Please keep us informed as to what you see and what you hear.”
Macys emphasized that if people see something happening, she hopes they will reach out to her. Everyone has the right to question the actions of ICE agents, Macys said, and it is important to learn who these people are so their cases can be tracked.
“The fact that we are having people taken out of our community with no documentation of who they are is unheard of,” Macys said.
