U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids were underway in Aurora and metro Denver on Wednesday morning, with early reports and video showing agents going door-to-door and throwing what appears to be flashing smoke grenades.
A video posted by the Rocky Mountain division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration shows agents outside an apartment building to serve a warrant as part of what DEA officials say is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security operation.
Early reports said agents were at the Edge of Lowry, Whispering Pines and Cedar Run apartment complexes.
The Edge of Lowry entered the international spotlight last year after a video of six heavily armed men forcing their way into multiple apartment units went viral.
In December, a Tren de Aragua gang-related home invasion and violent kidnapping at the apartment complex led to the arrest of 16 people on immigration violations and other charges. Aurora officials said two apartment residents were taken against their will to a vacant unit and were bound, pistol-whipped, threatened and tortured for hours.
Another apartment complex reportedly hit Wednesday morning at 1568 Nome St. was closed in August after Aurora officials determined it was uninhabitable.
Major U.S. cities, including the Denver area, have been bracing for raids by ICE agents since President Donald Trump returned to office on Jan. 20. Because of his campaign promise to target Aurora’s migrant community through “Operation Aurora,” the city was expected to be among the earliest targets to arrest immigrants without legal status.
But in recent days, ICE plans still appeared to be in flux. NBC News first reported that raids could occur in Aurora last Thursday morning, but a follow-up report said enforcement actions had been postponed because of media leaks.
Over the last few weeks, immigration officials have ramped up their efforts across the country.
So far, states with publicized actions include Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, Arizona, California, Florida, Texas, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey. Some reports depicted large-scale enforcement efforts, although others included individual arrests that appear to be in line with past ICE operations.
They appeared to take place at workplaces, residences and other sites, and some actions aimed primarily at arresting immigrants with criminal backgrounds. But at times, ICE has been detaining others they encountered in the course of such operations.
On Jan. 26 in Adams County, authorities arrested or detained 41 people, including some they said were associates of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, at a party taking place in a vacant warehouse off North Federal Boulevard. Officials said a monthslong investigation resulted in the operation.
The military’s U.S. Northern Command also said last week that it would allow ICE to use Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora as a site to process and temporarily hold detainees, but U.S. Rep. Jason Crow walked back that claim on Monday.
The Aurora Democrat said Buckley “is being used for Homeland Security operations, for ICE operations — that there is a footprint of federal law enforcement operating out of this facility,” but current plans for the base don’t include housing immigrants or detainees. It will mainly operate as a staging location for law enforcement and coordination center for ongoing operations, he said.
Immigration advocates at Casa de Paz — a group that visits immigrants at a separate ICE detention center in Aurora and provides aid upon their release — also noticed preparations were recently being made at that facility for new arrivals.
Executive director Andrea Loya said before the new ICE raid began that people had been released from the detention center — an occurrence that hadn’t taken place in a couple of years, she noted. It signaled to her that the facility was potentially making room for incoming detainees.
“This will not stop people seeking asylum,” Loya said.
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