DENVER, Colo. (KOAA) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday announced it had arrested more than 200 immigrants during a nine-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.
Scripps News Denver reached out to the ICE Denver office for an interview about the operation. Our request was declined because leadership was "out of town."
The announcement of 243 new arrests comes a day after the Trump administration reported ICE arrests were up nearly fivefold year over year.
ICE arrests in Colorado and Wyoming "almost FIVE TIMES as many" as there were during the same period under Joe Biden.
PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT! pic.twitter.com/p45HpzCKDZ
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 22, 2025
From Jan. 20, the day of Trump's second inauguration, through June 26 of this year, the administration said there had been 2,243 arrests in Colorado and Wyoming, compared to 489 in the same period the year before.
The White House claimed ICE arrests had tripled across eight western states.
ICE's public immigration enforcement dashboard has not been updated with statistics from 2025 as of this writing.
___
Erosion concerns along a busy Colorado highway
A News5 viewer reached out concerned about erosion along Highway 24.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
