Two illegal migrants are on the run after escaping from a Colorado detention facility during a power outage, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — which accuses local authorities in the sanctuary city of refusing to help track them down.
Joel Jose Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 32, and Geilond Vido-Romero, 24, fled the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora late Tuesday when the ICE facility was struck by the sudden outage, the feds said.
Authorities noticed the pair were missing during a routine facility-wide count, ICE said.
“Local authorities were notified immediately and declined to assist with the search,” an ICE spokesperson said in a statement. “ICE also notified additional state and federal law enforcement partners. The aliens are still at large and the search is ongoing.”
Aurora police, however, insist they weren’t notified about the fugitive migrants until hours later.
“This was a cold event from the time we were notified about it,” a police spokesperson said.
“We received late notification about the incident and upon response learned the event occurred several hours prior. The Aurora Police Department is available to assist our federal partners with active public safety emergencies.”
“As a municipal law enforcement agency, we do not enforce federal immigration law and cannot participate in large-scale searches or follow-ups,” they added.
Vido-Romero, the younger escapee, was detained by ICE last month after he was nabbed on local charges in Castle Rock, 9News reported.
The migrant, who entered the US illegally in December 2023 via Eagle Pass, Texas, was awaiting deportation to his native Venezuela.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez-Gonzalez entered the US via El Paso, Texas, in February 2013.
He was arrested by the feds last month after he was held by authorities at the Adams County Jail in Brighton on local charges.
He was being held at the ICE facility pending his immigration proceedings.
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