The Colorado Sun originally published this story on October 31, 2025.
A Durango father and his two children were held in a small, windowless room and only given potato chips and water as they were held in ICE custody in Durango for 36 hours, immigration advocates said Friday.
Fernando Jaramillo-Solano and his children, ages 12 and 15, were then transferred together to a unit in Dilley, Texas, where they are still being held, according to Compañeros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center, which connected with the family.
The family, who were detained while on their way to school Monday, have an active asylum case, which means they have the legal right to remain in the country while the case proceeds, and they have complied with every requirement of the process, according to immigration advocates who have been assisting the family with the legal process.
Masked federal agents pulled them over after mistaking Jaramillo-Solano for someone else, but arrested him and his two children anyway, advocates said.
Gregory Davies, Denver’s third-ranking official with ICE corroborated that account in federal court Friday, testifying that the agents did not know Jaramillo-Solano was the person driving the car before they stopped him, the Denver Post reported. Davies took the stand during a hearing in a lawsuit challenging the agency’s arrest practices in Colorado.
There was no active warrant for Jaramillo-Solano, according to Compañeros, who has been assisting the Colombian family.
The family’s arrest sparked demonstrations in the southwestern Colorado town. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the facility in Durango and blocked the entrance in an attempt to prevent the family from being separated. The protest erupted as federal agents dragged demonstrators and fired rubber bullets and used pepper spray at close range.
Meanwhile, the family said they were not allowed to leave the small cell, where the lights remained on at all times. The only available toilet was in the room, offering no privacy, advocates said.
No female agent was available to help the 12-year-old girl, the family told advocates. Jaramillo-Solano likened their detention to torture, and alleged that both he and his son were physically assaulted.
“Every time I asked what would happen to my children, or if they could have something to eat, they hit us. They told me I did not matter. They told me my children did not matter,” Jaramillo-Solano told the resource center.
An ICE spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.
The 15-year-old son said his hands were bruised and swollen from the handcuffs agents placed on him, advocates said.
The family was never separated, Compañeros said.
The family told immigration advocates that in Texas they received food and water and agents loosened their handcuffs.
A bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers is working together to free the family from ICE custody. During a meeting in Durango Thursday evening, representatives for Democratic Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet and Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd said they are working to get Jaramillo-Solano and his children released from the center in Texas and returned to Durango, where they have lived for 18 months.
President Donald Trump vowed during his presidential campaign to deport “vicious and bloodthirsty criminals,” but also promised to execute “the largest deportation program in American history.” The roundups of immigrants working in fields, attending court hearings or walking in their neighborhoods have included those with permanent residency cards, work permits and even U.S. citizenship.
