Deicy Aldana was in bed when agents pounded on her door around 6 a.m., she said. When her father-in-law opened it a crack, agents pushed it open and asked what country they were from. When Aldana’s husband and his father answered that they were from Venezuela, they were taken away in plastic handcuffs, said Aldana, who is Colombian.

Both men have work permits and have applied for asylum to stay in the United States, she said. Neither are connected to any gang, she said. Her husband has been fixing air conditioners and her father-in-law works at a recycling facility, Aldana said. “They said that if all their papers are in order, they would be released in three to five hours,” Aldana said in Spanish as she stood on an apartment balcony. “They just took them without asking if they had documents.”

Ronald Sanchez, who is from Venezuela and arrived in Colorado just over a year ago, said he was awakened before dawn to his phone buzzing. People in the complex were messaging each other, saying, “Federal agents are here! Do not open your doors!”

Sanchez, who has a work permit and has applied for asylum, did not open the door when agents pounded on it. “I am not a legal resident, so I didn’t answer,” he said in Spanish.

He said he saw six men and two women boarded onto the bus, their hands cuffed behind their backs. Others said there were more.

Authorities did not confirm a number of people taken into custody.

Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20250206124153/https://coloradosun.com/2025/02/05/ice-raids-aurora-denver/

Seems like not answering the door and laying low saved Mr. Sanchez from being kidnapped by ICE here, maybe there’s a lesson there.

Either way, here’s an ACLU know your rights page for migrants (archived)