In the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s election in 2024, a significant escalation in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities has been noted in the Denver area.
Federal agents implemented high-profile raids across Aurora and Denver shortly after he assumed office, demonstrating an unprecedented show of force not seen since February.
Data reveals alarming trends: ICE is now detaining about five times more immigrants in Denver compared to figures recorded prior to Trump’s administration.
This information originates from the Deportation Data Project (DDP), which offers transparency concerning the nation’s immigration enforcement system by providing records of encounters, arrests, and detainments.
Nationally, ICE is detaining three times more individuals than it did before President Trump took office.
During President Joe Biden’s administration, ICE was averaging approximately 9,000 arrests each month according to DDP data available from late 2023.
In contrast, ICE arrested 30,000 individuals just in June under President Trump’s directives.
The rise in local arrests has surpassed national trends.
ICE divides its data into areas of responsibility that cover major cities across the U.S. Under Biden, the Denver region averaged about 140 arrests monthly, a figure that has surged above 500 in recent months.
The Denver area encompasses all of Colorado and Wyoming and has seen approximately 2,900 immigration arrests this year alone.
It is crucial to note that immigration is classified as a civil matter; thus, ICE’s actions are not necessarily tied to criminal activities.
In past administrations, a criminal conviction might prompt ICE action, but those complying with the law were generally undisturbed.
This practice has changed under the current administration, with agents now encouraged to detain a wider range of individuals potentially in line for deportation, including those awaiting the conclusion of asylum requests in court.
Once arrested by ICE, noncitizens are typically placed in immigration detention. Many with final removal orders can be swiftly deported, while others might endure indefinite detention as their cases progress through the immigration system.
Analysis from DDP indicates that Denver has prioritized arrests significantly more than previously noted. Between September 2023 and December 2024, the city accounted for an average of 34 percent of total apprehensions within the greater region.
This figure escalated to nearly 50 percent during June and July.
ICE has not responded to inquiries for comments regarding these developments.
While recent months have witnessed a rise in ICE arrests, the agency’s reported encounters with immigrants have remained relatively stable with an average of 1,300 per month for the region.
Despite this, Denver’s arrest numbers contribute to a smaller segment of ICE’s nationwide apprehensions, as seen in areas like Miami, where over 15,000 arrests have been recorded this year despite a significantly larger population.
Jennifer Piper, an immigrants’ rights organizer with the American Friends Service Committee, noted that although local arrests have risen, Colorado law limits the collaboration between local law enforcement and federal agents, which was not the case in the past.
She recalled a notably harsher climate for immigration arrests in Colorado between 2006 and 2013, when President Barack Obama was implicated in extensive deportations, and state law required local police to report immigration violations to federal authorities.
“Even if the numbers are accurate,” she asserted, “it’s still so much lower than when we had laws that required law enforcement to be part of this.”
Conversely, officials from the Trump administration have signaled intentions to ramp up enforcement even further.
Tom Homan, referred to as “border czar,” has suggested that ICE should be making arrests at a rate of up to 7,000 people per day, a target much higher than those currently being recorded.
Piper explained that the tactics employed by ICE have intensified to create a perception of inevitability regarding these arrests.
“Part of the administration’s goal is to make us believe it’s inevitable and that there’s nothing we can do about it,” she commented. “There are things we have done and can do — and they’re making a difference.”
An emerging trend identified in recent data is the increase in arrests for individuals without final deportation orders.
Since late 2023, ICE’s focus in Denver largely centered on individuals with final deportation orders—those who underwent the immigration legal proceedings but were denied the right to remain.
In July, however, the focus shifted significantly; arrests of individuals without such orders surpassed those marked for removal, revealing a broadening dragnet approach by the government.
Laura Lunn, an attorney with the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, highlighted this shift, stating, “We’re seeing ICE making a lot of collateral arrests, where they just start picking anybody up who’s in the general vicinity when they’re engaging in an enforcement action.”
She further noted, “We have seen a huge uptick of people winning their cases, and ICE is not releasing them.”
Lunn elaborated that individuals who have successfully demonstrated substantial risk of persecution or torture if returned to their home countries are still being detained, as ICE seeks alternative nations for potential deportation rather than complying with legal protections already granted.
From September 2023 to December 2024, an average of 57 percent of those arrested by ICE in Denver had previous criminal convictions or pending charges, but this number dropped to only 30 percent of arrests in July, illustrating a stark change in enforcement focus.
An analysis has shown that men comprise 80 percent of arrests in Denver throughout 2025.
Arrests have included a wide age range—from a 1934-born man to 13 children born post-2020—with the majority hailing from Latin American countries such as Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia; however, immigrant demographics also include individuals from Afghanistan, China, and Romania.
Due to overcrowding in Denver’s primary immigration jail located in Aurora, those arrested often find themselves moved to detention facilities out of state.
In Aurora, the GEO Group operates the main ICE detention facility, which has faced criticisms from advocacy groups like the ACLU over its practices.
U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, representing the area that encompasses the facility, has been striving to gain access to the detention center for oversight after the operators restricted unscheduled tours.
Crow recently indicated that current ICE detainment numbers in Aurora hover around 1,300 individuals, a figure believed to be unprecedented.
Lunn described the situation in the high-capacity detention facilities as dire, with complaints about food shortages and inadequate maintenance of air conditioning systems contributing to deteriorating living conditions.
Christopher Ferreira, a GEO Group spokesperson, countered these claims by asserting that the company adheres to stringent standards set by ICE and swiftly addresses any identified issues per ICE’s Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan.
GEO Group maintains that their facilities never exceed the established capacity limits.
Lunn reiterated the inconsistency in ICE’s management of detainees, stating that many are quickly transferred out of state after their arrest, often leading to separation from family members and legal representation.
Records indicate that detainees from Denver have been sent to detention centers across 24 other states, with some finding themselves in large facilities or county jails contracted by ICE in various locations, including instances of individuals being briefly housed at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The structure of the civil immigration enforcement system, distinct from the federal judicial branch, permits the executive branch, led by President Trump, to enforce such policies.
This system enables measures like preventing bail for many detained immigrants and dismissing immigration judges who could expedite cases toward deportation or release.
Lunn expressed concern over the broader implications of the current administration’s actions on immigrant protections, stating, “If one person’s due process rights are being taken away, then that is a problem for all of us, because it’s an erosion of our rights.”
She urged for heightened public awareness surrounding these immigration enforcement changes, noting, “That should be reason enough for people to pay close attention to what’s happening right now.”
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