ICE announces arrest of more than 200 immigrants in 9-day operation across Denver metro

DENVER — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday announced it had arrested more than 200 immigrants during a 9-day operation that spanned the Denver metro area.

Between July 12 and July 20, the agency said it arrested 243 people who are “currently charged with or have been convicted of criminal offenses after illegally entering the United States.” Of those, 50 are reportedly subject to removal orders.

“This operation highlights our unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety and security of our communities,” said Robert Guadian, director of enforcement and removal operations for ICE’s Denver field office, in a statement. “By partnering with federal agencies, we have successfully apprehended individuals who pose a significant threat to public safety. We will continue to work diligently to combat crime and uphold the rule of law. Many of the criminal aliens ICE arrested during this operation had been previously released into the Denver metro area by local county jails — directly into the community — because of Colorado’s sanctuary laws that prevent Sheriffs from cooperating with ICE.”

In its announcement, ICE provided an “at-a-glance criminality,” outlining the number of people arrested for certain crimes:

• DUI: 17
• Theft (including burglary, robbery and motor vehicle theft): 8
• Assault (including aggravated assault and domestic violence): 13
• Drug offenses (including distribution of fentanyl): 9
• Sex offenses (including sex assault and sexual exploitation of a minor): 5
• Homicide (including murder and vehicular manslaughter): 2
• Human trafficking: 1

Other crimes included “criminal impersonation, carrying a concealed weapon, false reporting, child cruelty, intimidation, hit-and-run, illegal entry and illegal reentry,” according to ICE

The agency said some of the people arrested are suspected or current members of gangs, including Los Zetas (1), Tren de Aragua (4), the Sinaloa Cartel (1) and “other organizations” (3).

ICE said it worked with several law enforcement partners during the operation, including Homeland Security Investigations Denver, US Customs and Border Protection, the DEA, the ATF, the FBI and the IRS.

Denver7 reached out to the ICE Denver office for an interview about the operation. Our request was declined because leadership was “out of town.”

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story said 243 “undocumented immigrants” were arrested. Denver7 was unable to verify the immigration status of those arrested and, therefore, changed our report to say 243 “immigrants” were arrested.