Denver, US, Feb 5 (EFE).- United States migration authorities arrested about 100 alleged members of the Venezuelan-based transnational gang Tren de Aragua and an unspecified number of foreigners in Aurora, Colorado, on Wednesday as part of several raids in at least 11 states with the help of the DEA and FBI.
At least 100 suspected gang members and an unknown number of other migrants were arrested by federal agents in simultaneous raids in the Denver metro area on Wednesday morning, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed on social media.
Civil groups and the government of Aurora denounced irregularities during the raids such as a lack of warrants, roadblocks, and interrogations of US citizens about whether they had undocumented neighbors.
A video released by the Rocky Mountain Division of the DEA also shows agents going door-to-door and throwing smoke grenades into residences as part of the raids.
Up until now, the presence of ICE, along with the DEA, and the FBI was confirmed at three apartment complexes in Aurora, east of Denver, which are allegedly linked to Tren de Aragua.
According to witnesses, the raids began at 5:30 am local time and lasted about four hours.
During the raids, uniformed officers asked for identification from residents, owners, and customers of nearby businesses. They also tagged the doors of some apartments.
ICE said that at least “100+ members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were targeted for arrest and detention in Aurora, Colorado, today.”
The agency stressed that the operation took place with its “partners (FBI), (US Department of Justice), (US Customs and Border Protection), (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms), in an ongoing investigation.”
Lack of warrants and other abuses reported
The Colorado Rapid Response Network (RRRC), a pro-migrant organization that runs an attention line to notify ICE activity, reported that “agents did not show warrants” and that people were “questioned about their citizenship status and identity documents as they left their homes.”
The government of Aurora confirmed that neither the city nor the police department were involved in the development and activation of any federal migration enforcement plan in the locality.
“Colorado state law prohibits local governments from engaging in typical immigration-specific enforcement and detention. We focus on enforcing state and local law,” the city of Aurora said in a statement.
The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC) criticized ICE for conducting a raid “without a warrant” and preventing families from leaving their homes, even to take their children to school.
CIRC volunteers will remain at the raid sites “to witness, document, and advise residents of their rights.”
“We as a Latino service provider categorically condemn these raids that spread fear, division, pain, and suffering among our communities,” said Rudy Gonzales, president and CEO of Servicios de la Raza in Denver, in a statement.
On Wednesday morning, migration raids were also reported in Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, Arizona, California, Florida, Texas, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey, in some cases involving large numbers of agents and in others individual arrests. EFE
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