To Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Denver’s Abraham Gonzalez is a classic example of how a liberal “sanctuary city” and the prior presidential administration made America less safe by releasing unlawfully present immigrants charged with crimes to the streets, rather than to immigration authorities for deportation.
But a review of Gonzalez’s brief but eventful Colorado criminal history shows that his case might better be described as an object lesson in the complexities of criminal law and the lack of transparency in immigration proceedings.
Jordan enthusiastically stated his complaints to Denver Mayor Mike Johnston Wednesday during a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Four U.S. mayors had been called before the committee to explain their city and state policies toward immigration.
Gonzalez’s alleged crimes never rose to the level of notoriety before Wednesday. They amount to the kind of borderline felonies that take place hundreds of times each day in American cities.
But they briefly took center stage in Congress, and if Colorado's arrest and court records can be trusted, Jordan had some of the details wrong.
“He’s a Venezuelan gang member arrested by the Border Patrol on Sept. 20, 2023, released into the country by the Biden administration,” Jordan began, grasping the arms of his chair as he read from a prepared document.
Those details are impossible to verify, as the Border Patrol does not make its records of detention or release available to the public. Immigration and Customs Enforcement declared him to be a gang member in a post on the social network X, but no evidence of those ties has been presented, and nothing noting him as a gang member is included in publicly available arrest papers reviewed by Colorado Public Radio from his encounters with police. His immigration status at the time he was released by the Border Patrol is also not publicly known.
“A few months later, he’s arrested in your city, charged with aggravated assault,” Jordan continued.
That’s true, according to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records. They show Gonzalez was arrested on Feb. 26, 2024, for felony menacing (aggravated assault). A spokeswoman for the Denver Sheriff's Department said Gonzalez was then released from the jail three days later to await trial on a personal recognizance bond. However, no record of court proceedings in that case publicly exists. That could be because the charge was dismissed and the case sealed, or because this charge was combined with later charges Gonzalez faced.
Read: Denver mayor faces talk of arrest and criminal investigation in heated DC hearing
Before that release, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, might have been made aware that an immigrant with temporary status in the U.S. was in a county jail. But that’s not known because ICE declined to answer any questions about the Gonzalez case and their records are not public.
Jordan wasn’t finished.
“On March 11, 2024, he’s charged with motor vehicle theft - stole a car,” the Congressman said.
This is where Jordan’s timeline fails to square with court and arrest records. The motor vehicle theft case actually occurred in Denver on Nov. 1, 2023, just two months after Gonzalez entered the country.
Gonzalez was spotted in a stolen Hyundai Elantra at the intersection of Monaco Street and Leetsdale Drive in Denver. Police followed him and a passenger to Thornton, where they told the officer they were from Venezuela and had just arrived in the country, crossing the border in Texas.
Gonzalez, who turned 24 Tuesday, was booked for auto theft, but allowed to leave the Denver County Jail the next day on his own recognizance while he awaited trial. More than a year later, that case is still pending.
“And then on March 20, 2024, Mr. Gonzalez is charged with felony menacing,” Jordan went on.
That one is true. He was charged on that date with felony menacing, attempted murder, attempted assault, kidnapping and illegal discharge of a firearm.
But Jordan’s timeline left out one case. On March 11, 2024 (the day Jordan said Gonzalez was arrested for car theft in Denver), he was actually arrested for fleeing and eluding in a car in Castle Rock, according to arrest and court records.
That traffic case remains pending as a reckless driving charge. And it’s not known whether ICE asked Douglas County to turn Gonzalez over during his eight days in the south metro county’s jail. The Dougco Sheriff’s Office said ICE was not notified of his release, because he was transferred directly to the Denver jail to face the attempted murder charges.
Almost immediately after that transfer, according to Jordan, ICE notified Denver that they wanted to take Gonzalez as soon as the city was done with him.
Gonzalez stayed in the Denver jail for almost a year on the attempted murder and kidnapping charges. He was released on Feb. 28, 2025, last Friday. But today there are no publicly-available court records related to those charges. Again, that could mean that the case was dismissed and sealed. The Denver District Attorney’s office would only say that no records exist on the court case.
Read: President Trump claimed new immigrants destroyed Aurora in his speech to Congress
Denver Police said, in response to CPR News’ questions about the attempted murder charges, “no such record exists.”
Gonzales still has upcoming court hearings on the Denver vehicle theft case from November 2023 and the Douglas County vehicular eluding case from March 2024. But with him now in ICE custody, it is unknown whether the victim or victims in those cases will ever see justice.
Jordan acknowledged that the Denver Sheriff's Office gave ICE “an hour’s” notice to get to the detention center, but he said that wasn’t sufficient. Still, ICE agents were waiting outside the jail last Friday when Gonzalez came out into what was described as a chaotic scene.
Republican Rep. Jeff Crank of Colorado Springs said Gonzalez was Tased by the ICE officers but bit one of them before he was taken into custody.
“Let's just be honest, with no Denver Police Department officer there to assist if the situation turns violent, that's irresponsible,” Crank said on Wednesday, addressing the mayor. “And be clear, there's no federal law that forces you to do it this way.”
ICE agents seen on raids in the metro area are equipped much like police officers, including with armored SWAT vehicles. Federal agencies like the DEA, FBI and ATF have also been ordered by President Donald Trump to assist ICE at that agency’s request.
A spokeswoman at ICE’s Denver office said they couldn’t release or confirm any of the new information coming out of the Congressional hearing, only that they will prosecute all assaults.
“A suspected TdA gang member was released from the Denver County jail due to CO’s sanctuary policies,” the statement on X said. “ICE was forced to arrest him in public, where he assaulted officers. Sanctuary policies endanger communities and law enforcement.”
Compared to some other Colorado sheriff’s offices, Denver does have a different policy in releasing people to ICE outside of the facility -- in the sallyport or loading area and out in the open air where they could feasibly escape if they run fast.
In El Paso County, for example, the transfer of custody from the county jail to a federal immigration officer would happen in the intake and transfer part of the jail, so the area is secure, said spokeswoman Cassandra Sebastian.
“At no point would the person be outside and at no point would they be a danger to the public,” Sebastian said.
So, ICE comes into the facility and the transfer of custody takes place inside there.
Asked whether the suspect would ever have handcuffs off, Sebastian said it would “depend on the situation,” but there could be incidents, where a cuff would come off on one hand and the person would be re-cuffed by an immigration official.
In Teller County, Sheriff Jason Mikesell said he invites ICE agents into the booking area and the inmate is transferred from local to federal custody inside.
He said the person inside is not usually cuffed because it’s a secure area, but they are never released outside where they could be a danger to the public.
“I do it this way because I do,” Mikesell said. “We release inside the facility.”
Read: El Paso, Teller county sheriffs renew formal collaboration with ICE
Colorado law prohibits local jails from holding inmates for any amount of time beyond their sentences, or the time they are to be released. Would a second or two more in handcuffs be considered a violation of that? It’s simply not clear.
Douglas County runs a bit more like Denver. A spokeswoman on Wednesday said that they don’t hold them, they don’t delay them and they don’t help ICE at all.
“ICE would wait outside the justice center and when the inmate leaves they can get them,” said Douglas County Deputy Cocha Heyden. “We tell them this person is about to bond out and that’s about it.”
ICE doesn’t enter the Douglas County Justice Center or the sheriff’s office, she said.
Johnston said when he heard about the injury of the ICE officer, he reached out to ICE to check on his status and to talk about how the transfer of custody works in Denver. When pressed by Republicans to commit to a change in Denver’s policy, the mayor said he wanted to understand more clearly what happened.
There is one final twist in the Gonzalez case. His history was debated in the halls of Congress Wednesday, but it is not at all clear where he is now. A search of several permutations of his name in ICE’s detainee locator tool failed to find a match Wednesday afternoon.
