AURORA | NBC News has reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other federal law enforcement agencies will launch a new arrest operation in Aurora on Thursday morning.
In addition, Buckley Space Force officials said some type of processing and detention operation run by Homeland Security will open this week on the Aurora installation.
The project will “enable U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to stage and process criminal aliens within the U.S. for an operation taking place in Colorado,” according to a statement issued by Buckley officials. “Military personnel are not involved in this operation.”
Aurora city officials addressed the news, emphasizing that local law enforcement is not involved in planning or executing the Aurora DHS operation.
“We are not involved in the development and activation of such plans,” Aurora spokesperson Ryan Luby said in a statement. “As we have said numerous times previously, Colorado state law prohibits local governments from engaging in typical immigration-specific enforcement or detention. We focus on enforcing state and local law.”
The city added that while it will cooperate with federal partners as required by law, its role remains limited under state restrictions.
“As we always have, we will work with our federal partners and follow federal law and directives as they apply to our community and as we are allowed. We will always follow state and federal law,” Luby said in the statement.
The office of Gov. Jared Polis also responded, stating that they have no details about the NBC story.
“Colorado has no information about this rumored operation in Aurora at this time,” said Shelby Weiman, press secretary for Gov. Polis.
Aurora Public Schools officials have sent letters to parents explaining how schools would handle encounters with immigration officials.
In a Jan. 27 letter to parents school officials offered this:
If immigration officers come to our schools:
- School leaders will follow clear procedures to protect students and their information.
- We will contact our legal office and follow the proper legal steps before sharing any information.
- Immigration officers would only be allowed in a school building if they have a judicial warrant.
- Parents and guardians will be informed if any requests are made regarding their child. Please know that school staff do not know students’ immigration status and we would never ask for their immigration status. If you are looking for more information on how to prepare for potential changes to immigration enforcement, please carefully review the following information:
• Please have a family preparedness plan in place.
CLICK HERE FOR THE ENGLISH PLAN
Cherry Creek School District officials said they were committed to ensuring a safe and inclusive environment for students amid potential uncertainty.
“We continue to have conversations with local, state and federal agencies and partners as we plan for a variety of scenarios that could impact our students, staff and community,” Lauren Snell, public information officer for Cherry Creek Public Schools, said in a statement. “As a public education institution, we remain fully committed to do everything we can to ensure our students and schools are safe and welcoming spaces and that all students have equal access to quality education.”
An operation in the the New York City Bronx early Tuesday snared Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 26, who authorities said was one of several men, including members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, who entered an apartment in Aurora last summer and were recorded on a widely viewed video. Several of the suspects were previously arrested in Colorado and New York.
The incident caught President Donald Trump’s attention during the presidential campaign, and he announced a plan called “Operation Aurora” to target migrant gangs. The video led Trump to claim that Aurora had been taken over by the gang, which city officials denied.
In an arrest warrant, Aurora police said Zambrano-Pacheco was also wanted in a kidnapping in which at least 20 armed men abducted and threatened two people in late June. In addition, police said Zambrano-Pacheco was with a group of armed men before a shooting occurred shortly after the apartment incident that was caught on video.
Two arrest warrants accused Zambrano-Pacheco of kidnapping, burglary and felony menacing. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer or if he was a member of Tren de Aragua.
Local and federal authorities, including Aurora police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investigated the apartment incident for months beginning when Joe Biden was still president.
On Sunday, Rocky Mountain region Drug Enforcement Agency officials said they arrested approximately 50 immigrants early in the day at a “makeshift nightclub” party in Adams County, stating at the time that all of them were “illegal aliens,” and “dozens” were members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua prison gang.
DEA officials said the raid came after months of investigation and was not part of a new direction in enforcement dictated by the Trump administration.
DEA agents, working with unnamed local police officials, ATF agents and Homeland Security officials said the gathering was an “invite-only” event, and that guns and illegal drugs were confiscated during the arrest, according to the social media post.
Hundreds of community members gathered in the snowy cold Saturday at Fletcher Plaza to protest President Donald Trump’s threat of mass deportations, the demonization of immigrants, housing injustices and exploitation by the ultra-rich.
The rally drew as many as 700 immigrants, activists and allies determined to challenge national and local anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies affecting Aurora’s diverse population.
“When we stand together organized in resistance, we can break the machine of fear and greed that these billionaires are building,” said Moira Casado Cassidy. “The world that we actually deserve is possible.”
If they’re here illegally, they’re criminals right off the bat.
Thank you President Trump !!!
Any official who leaked the information on the raid should be arrested. I hope that the Presidents staff is investigating so the leaker can be publicly identified and charged. Hopefully they will get it rescheduled and if anything, bring in more agents to shock and awe the city. Now that Guantanamo is going to be used to house these thugs, anyone here that is picked up should be sent there immediately.
The news about Aurora being the target of an immigration operation is both concerning and reflective of the ongoing tensions surrounding immigration enforcement in the U.S. The fact that these operations often happen with little to no warning only adds to the fear and uncertainty that many immigrant families face. It’s not just about law enforcement; it’s about the human impact—families being separated, communities disrupted, and people living in fear of losing everything overnight.
Aurora has been a diverse and immigrant-friendly city, so it’s no surprise that local advocates and community members are pushing back against these enforcement actions. The article highlights the lack of transparency in these operations, which raises important questions about due process and civil rights.
Regardless of one’s stance on immigration, these large-scale raids create more chaos than solutions. If the goal is to reform immigration, then there needs to be a pathway to legal status instead of relying on fear-based tactics. The real challenge isn’t just enforcement; it’s figuring out a way to create a system that balances security, fairness, and humanity—something these sudden operations fail to do.