Local immigration raids could begin on Thursday in Aurora as President Donald Trump’s administration targets a growing number of cities, according to a national media report.
NBC News first reported on Tuesday, citing information from three unnamed sources “familiar with the planning,” that an enforcement operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was planned to start in Aurora early Thursday morning.
Also Tuesday, Colorado Public Radio and CBS4 were among outlets that reported the U.S. military was preparing space at Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora for staging, processing and temporary holding of “criminal aliens” detained in ICE operations, according to a U.S. Northern Command statement.
Though Trump campaigned by calling part of his immigration enforcement plan “Operation Aurora,” large-scale ICE raids haven’t happened in the Denver area yet.
But across the country, federal immigration enforcement has ramped up after the new presidential administration set daily arrest quotas, according to The Washington Post. So far, raids have been reported in Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, Arizona, California, Florida, Texas, New York and New Jersey.
And in Adams County, 41 migrants without legal status — including associates tied to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang — were arrested on Sunday by agents with ICE, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations. It was the result of an investigation that spanned months.
NBC reported that ICE’s focus cities this week were Chicago, New York City and, soon, Aurora.
For now, local officials haven’t confirmed Thursday’s potential raid in Aurora. It’s unclear whether an operation in Aurora would target certain types of immigrants or cast a wider net.
Steve Kotecki, a spokesman for ICE’s Denver field office, acknowledged that he received a request for comment from The Denver Post, but he didn’t immediately respond.
Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky said she could not confirm the plans, but added: “I am happy to see the number of arrests of Tren de Aragua gang members, and I hope to see that continue.”
An Aurora city spokesperson said the city, including the Aurora Police Department, is aware of news reports, but “we are not involved in the development and activation of such plans.”
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
An ICE official told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the agency is still prioritizing migrants who are “considered public safety and national security threats.” However, during those encounters, the Trump administration allows officers to arrest other immigrants without legal status — a reversal from the policy established by former President Joe Biden’s administration.
“We’re looking for those public safety, national security cases,” said Matt Elliston, the director of ICE’s Baltimore field office. “The big difference being, nobody has a free pass anymore.”
Casa de Paz is a group that visits immigrants at the ICE detention center in Aurora and provides assistance upon their release. Executive director Andrea Loya said people were released from the ICE facility over the weekend, which she estimates hasn’t occurred in a couple of years.
To her, the move could mean the detention center might be making space for more detainees, and she fears the risk of wrongful detainment.
Whatever happens this week, the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, a nonprofit that serves immigrants, affirmed its commitment to offering legal support to “people caught in the cross hairs,” said director of advocacy and litigation Laura Lunn.
“Trump is directing resources to terrorize our community by promising to separate parents from their children and target people at home and at work,” Lunn said in an emailed statement.
But “the law matters,” she added. “Legal rights and due process matter.”
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