When federal immigration officers arrested Rigoberto Carranza-Mendez in Colorado last month, they trumpeted his detention and subsequent deportation to Mexico on social media — and used the opportunity to take a shot at the state’s capital city.

The convicted murderer had found nearly “perfect sanctuary” in Denver, Immigration and Customs Enforcement claimed, “until ICE officers found him.”

But Carranza-Mendez wasn’t arrested on the streets of Denver, and ICE officers didn’t exactly find him. On July 16, Carranza-Mendez was due to be released from a state prison. The week before that, state corrections officials had emailed ICE, informing the agency of his release date and setting up a custody transfer at a facility in Cañon City.

Carranza-Mendez was one of two men arrested by ICE last

See Full Page