Glenwood Springs files code violation lawsuit against ICE facility landlord
DENVER — The City of Glenwood Springs filed a lawsuit in Colorado state court Sept. 25 against the owner of a facility operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The suit follows a 6-1 vote by the city council Aug. 6 to pursue legal action against JG Housing Solutions, LLC.
The lawsuit alleges that ICE is operating the facility at 100 Midland Ave. in violation of land use code by continuing to detain people after the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission revoked ICE’s special use permit to do so on April 28.
Glenwood Springs argues that the landlord is responsible for leasing to a tenant using the property impermissibly.
The suit states that the “City and the public will suffer irreparable harm if the violation continues,” and seeks a declaration that leasing a property for this use is illegal and that the city can collect fines for the violations, preliminary and permanent injunctions that would cease the lease, cost recovery and potential “further relief” to enforce the court’s decision.
“If a property owner violates a city zoning ordinance, the city is not limited to the issuance of a citation or the filing of a complaint, but may obtain an injunction to restrain the violation,” the suit states.
The city granted a special use permit, or SUP, to ICE in 2004 and allowed for detainments less than 12 hours in length.
But a community effort, using information from the Deportation Data Project and other public records, revealed that ICE had detained people for longer than 12 hours and violated the conditions of its permit, prompting its revocation.
After the city revoked the SUP in April, ICE was no longer permitted to detain people at the facility. Neither the General Services Administration (GSA), ICE nor JG Housing Solutions ever appealed that decision.
The lawsuit alleges the detentions have continued.
“ICE data shows that beginning between May 22, 2026 through August 4, 2026, ICE detained 27 persons in the Leasehold in continuing violations of the City's Code,” the suit reads.
“Because one of the current uses by Owner's tenant is not a permissible use under the Code, Owner must be enjoined from continuing to lease the Leasehold for that purpose.”
At the Aug. 6 meeting where the council approved legal action, city attorney Karl Hanlon recommended that the city move forward with the lawsuit as they would against any other owner violating land use code.
“The issue that we're facing is somebody is operating a facility in violation of our code,” Hanlon said. “The question in front of us is, do we enforce the code or not?”
The lawsuit states that the GSA generally uses its own forms when leasing from private landlords. The lawsuit references GSA Form 3517B, which was a lease previously used by the government for renting properties.
That form, which according to the GSA website was “Canceled on 6/3/2026 with no replacement,” states the “Lessor shall comply with all Federal, state and local laws applicable to its ownership and leasing of the Property, including, without limitation, laws applicable to the construction, ownership, alteration or operation of all Buildings, structures, and facilities located thereon, and obtain all necessary permits.”
Glenwood says that the detentions violate the “contractual pledge required by the GSA to comply with the local laws.”
The lawsuit sets up an indirect showdown between a local government and a federal agency with little precedent.
It took months of pressure from the community and a July 24 incident, where EMS responded to a medical call at the facility and witnessed detainment, for the city council to move forward with the lawsuit against the facility’s landlord.
“I feel somewhat comfortable moving forward with state court,” Mayor Marco Dehm said. “I have no appetite suing the federal government.”
Colorado Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Weiser feels differently.
On Sept. 29, Weiser announced a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security itself over a plan to renovate and operate an old prison in Hudson, Colorado, for immigration detention.
A legal battle similar to Glenwood Springs’ is playing out in Oregon, where Portland officials began issuing fines to the owner of an ICE facility for land-use violations of the same kind.
Rather than suing the federal government itself for the violations, Glenwood Springs opted instead to sue the owner, JG Housing Solutions, LLC, which is not allowed to lease property for illegal uses. By taking that path, Glenwood Springs hopes to avoid a head-on collision with the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
That clause generally gives the U.S. government a trump card over state and local laws, stating that federal laws are the “supreme Law of the Land.”
To head off that argument, Glenwood Springs argues that its actions don’t impede the laws and policies of the federal government, and that ICE has eight other facilities in the state in which they can conduct their operations.
“ICE could continue to arrest, interrogate, and begin the removal of process from Glenwood Springs,” and “ICE may continue its mission as allowed by the law, except for holding persons at a location that the City's Code does not permit,” the lawsuit says.
It also states that the lease could even continue and that ICE could still use the facility, but only for administrative functions, and not detentions.
“If the leasing for detentions ceased, ICE would still be permitted to use the Leasehold for its other administrative office functions, which are allowed under the property's current zoning.”
When reached for comment Oct. 1, ICE’s Denver Field Office responded, “ICE is not a party to the lawsuit, it would be inappropriate for us to comment on it. You would need to reach out to the property owners.”
JG Housing Solutions could not be reached by phone or email for comment prior to publication.
In an August statement to the Colorado Sun about the Glenwood Springs facility, DHS denied the allegations of violations.
“This is FALSE. ICE is not holding detainees for more than 12 hours at the facility in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. This is a processing facility not a detention facility. Illegal aliens are quickly processed and transferred to permanent housing at a detention facility.”
At the Aug. 6 meeting, some council members wondered if the lawsuit would spark a backlash from ICE, and what would happen even if the courts were to decide in Glenwood Springs’ favor.
“Because we're getting rid of one problem doesn't mean we need to invoke another. And if the buses show up with ICE agents, well, then we made the wrong decision,” Dehm said. “But I hope that's not the case.”
When asked what would happen if ICE simply ignored a court directive, Hanlon said “I show up at the facility because I have a court order that says you can't be doing what you're doing.”
“Worst-case scenario, I guess you can have somebody who completely ignores that,” Hanlon said. “We would try to bring in the highest-ranking official from that organization in front of the judge, or in this case, the landlord in front of the judge, and ask for… a contempt order from the judge, which could include fines or jail time.”
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