Updated at 11:03 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2025
Immigration agents accompanied by other federal law enforcement officers raided a pair of troubled apartment complexes in Aurora and Denver early Wednesday, though it is not yet clear whether anyone was taken into custody.
Residents of The Edge at Lowry at 1218 Dallas St. in Aurora were awakened by a series of loud bangs on doors in the complex just after 6 a.m. as officers identified themselves.
Teddy Dagostino told Denverite he was in a car near the complex and watched as officers went in.
It’s not yet clear whether the raid was part of a larger mass deportation effort long promised by President Donald Trump, who dubbed it Operation Aurora.
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Denverite reporters saw agents take some individuals away from Cedar Run in marked vehicles, though it's not known whether they are formally under arrest.
Around 9 a.m., law enforcement vehicles, including some marked as being from the Aurora Police Department, were also seen entering the GEO Group-operated ICE detainment center in Aurora.
The DEA posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that they were participating in “operations taking place throughout the metro area” today.
Residents and organizers shouted 'know your rights' information and protested
Mark Sewell, a resident at Cedar Run Apartments, said he and his neighbors were woken up around 4 a.m. by law enforcement. He said agents were trying to enter homes and search for identification.
Sewell began shouting information about immigration rights outside the complex, letting residents know they didn’t have to open doors unless the agents produced a signed warrant.
“I’m a native Hawaiian, but this right here, this is some BS,” Sewell said. “We as the people we have to stand up together against this kind of stuff because at the end of the day we all got each other.”
Katie Leonard, an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation in Denver, was also providing information to Cedar Run residents early Wednesday to make sure they knew their rights. She said activists have been at the location since law enforcement started arriving.
Leonard said that while some people have been detained, others who did not consent to a search were able to leave.
“It’s very clear that these [agents] are harassing folks where they live,” Leonard said. “We have a son and a father over here who are afraid to leave the parking lot because everyone is being interrogated at the exit.”
Leonard said she spoke to someone whose brother was among those detained. He was going through the legal process to seek asylum, she said.
“People are just being harassed,” Leonard said. “Kids are trying to get to school, people are trying to get to work and these people are more than just disrupting their day, they’re really terrorizing folks, which is just awful.”
Alejandro, a fellow Cedar Run resident who did not give his last name, said he was also woken up by federal agents in the early morning hours. While they didn’t knock on his door, he heard them say they were looking for criminals with police records.
“Thank God they didn't knock on the apartment,” said Alejandro, who is Venezuelan and has permission to work in the U.S. “Although we are not criminals, obviously one gets scared. We are hard-working people, good people and those of us who come here want to work.”
The latest for an apartment surrounded by controversy
Many families have already moved out of the Edge, which is set to be closed by the city this month over long-running concerns about maintenance, security and crime.
The buildings have housed hundreds of recent immigrants from Venezuela, as well as alleged members of the gang Tren de Aragua. The building’s owners and Aurora police allege that the gang was extorting rent payments from some residents.
CPR reporter Haylee May contributed to this story.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
