Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids targeted residences across the Denver metro area, including in Aurora, Denver, Thornton and Arapahoe County, on Wednesday, reports Denver Gazette news partner 9News. 

It’s not yet clear how many people were detained or arrested in the raids. According to a social media post from Enforcement and Removal Operations, about 100 people were being targeted. 9News crews at the scenes of the raids did not see anywhere near that number of arrests. 

Security video from the Ivy Crossing apartments showed officers going door-to-door inside a building, marking each door before moving on to the next. Witnesses at other locations said officers went door-to-door, asking people for identification. 

Tim Lenzen, acting special agent in charge for the Denver office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said Wednesday afternoon that they weren’t ready to discuss who was arrested or for what. 

ICE raids began around 6 a.m. and were ongoing throughout the day. 9News has confirmed raids took place at or near the following locations.

• Cedar Run Apartment complex near South Quebec Street and Leetsdale Drive in Denver
• The Edge at Lowry apartments, near East 12th Avenue and Dallas Street in Aurora
• The Whispering Pines apartments near East 13th Avenue and Helena Street
• The Jewell Apartments in Denver near South Colorado Boulevard and East Mexico Avenue
• Apartments at 1451 Macon St. in Arapahoe County
• The Ivy Crossing Apartments near South Quebec Street and East Harvard Avenue in Arapahoe County
• A mobile home community near West 100th and Zuni Street in Thornton

One of the first operations took place at 888 S. Oneida St. in Denver, which is the Cedar Run Apartments complex near Quebec and Leetsdale. Federal law enforcement went door to door, asking people for documentation. 

When Sky9 flew over the scene, a bus was seen in the parking lot with multiple law enforcement vehicles nearby. A 9News reporter spent several hours at the complex and saw two handcuffed people brought out and put on the bus. Witnesses told 9News that a couple of other people were loaded onto the bus.

One man told 9News that ICE came to his door and demanded documents. Another said he was headed to work with his friend when agents stopped them and asked them for documents. The man showed his documents, but his friend didn’t have anything to show and was led to the bus. 

“It did make me very sad for my friend, and I couldn’t do anything,” he said. 

The man said he didn’t understand why his friend was caught up in the operation. 

“The truth is, the only thing I would like to tell the police is to try to catch the criminals who are, if they are, not the ones who are doing good for the state and the country,” he said. 

Around the same time, The Edge at Lowry apartment complex near 12th and Dallas in Aurora was targeted.

Not far from there, a 9News reporter saw two people being taken into custody in the area of East Colfax Avenue and Macon Street, at an apartment building at 1451 Macon St. in Arapahoe County. It’s unclear who those two people are, why they were detained, or if agents were targeting them specifically. 

9News crews saw about 30 ICE and Homeland Security agents at the property with their guns drawn. 

Neighbors said officers didn’t knock on any other doors within the apartment building, or search any other apartments.

One neighbor 9News spoke with described the fear he felt thinking that he was going to be arrested.

“I felt a lot of fear when I saw that they arrived here, at our buildings, because what you hear is that they’re going to take us all and send us to Venezuela,” he said. 

“For me, it was terror,” he said. “Because they arrived yelling with their guns in hand and, the truth is, yes, it felt terrifying because I’d never lived this here.” 

“They banged on the door,” one resident said. “I opened the door and they were like knee deep in front of my door and they were asking me if I was American or if I was legal.” 

Many residents told 9News that agents were going door-to-door, asking people for identification. 

“Just scared. Didn’t know what they were going to do,” one resident said. “Didn’t know if they were going to come in without permission. I didn’t know if I was supposed to open the door. I took my chances and didn’t answer the door.”

People 9News spoke with said they saw three people being detained at that location. 

On Wednesday afternoon, officials were staged at Ruston Park in Federal Heights, which is near West 99th Place and Zuni Street. They later moved over to a trailer home in Thornton near West 100th Avenue and Castle Road. 

A 9News reporter saw four people being taken into custody at that mobile home community Wednesday afternoon, including a woman and a baby. The woman and child were later released, while two men were placed in handcuffs and taken away from the scene. 

The woman told 9News that one of the men taken into custody was her husband. She said he is in the country without proper documentation, but said she did not know why he was being arrested or where he was being taken. 

Colorado Rapid Response Network, a nonprofit that assists immigrants, said it confirmed operations at the Cedar Run Apartment, The Edge at Lowry Apartments and at the Ivy Crossing complex and said ICE was involved in each of them.

A nonprofit group, the Colorado People’s Alliance, provided photos and video to 9News of damage to a door and apartment at that location.

Governor, city leaders respond

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said in a statement that he is aware of an operation at one apartment complex in Denver. The Cedar Run Apartment complex is in Denver.

“We are in contact with Denver Public Schools and other city partners, and have confirmed that there has not been any activity in schools, hospitals, or churches,” Johnston said in his statement. “Denver Police and city authorities were not involved in these actions, nor were we given prior notice. We will continue to monitor these activities throughout the day.”

A city of Aurora spokesperson said the city was not involved in the operations Wednesday.

“The city, including the Aurora Police Department, has not been involved in the development and activation of any federal immigration enforcement plans in Aurora,” spokesperson Ryan Luby said in an email. “As we have said numerous times previously, Colorado state law prohibits local governments from engaging in typical immigration-specific enforcement and detention. We focus on enforcing state and local law.”

In a statement, Gov. Jared Polis’ office requested more transparency from the federal government. 

“Governor Polis and his office are still learning details of the federal actions in Denver and Aurora this morning,” said spokesperson Shelby Wieman. “The state is not involved in these actions. The governor has requested an update from federal law enforcement on these and future actions. Governor Polis has been clear that Colorado will work as it has in the past, in compliance with state and federal law, with federal law enforcement agencies in apprehending dangerous criminals to make Colorado safer for everyone. The governor asks the federal government to be more transparent about the enforcement actions they are taking in Colorado as fear continues to grow in our community, including more information on detention and deportation, what happens to those with legal status, children and American citizens, as well as the overall cost of these operations.” 

The operation is one of several by federal agents since President Donald Trump’s inauguration. ICE has conducted operations in cities including Chicago and New York, targeting the arrests of immigrants without proper documentation.

On Jan. 26, Drug Enforcement Administration agents detained 49 people, including suspected Tren de Aragua members, during a raid in Adams County. The DEA said it conducted the operation with local law enforcement partners targeting drug trafficking and members of the Venezuelan gang.

ICE determined at least 41 of those detained in that operation were in the United States without documentation. Those arrested came from many countries, including Venezuela, El Salvador, Colombia, Cuba, Italy and Romania.