Federal agents went door-to-door at a Denver apartment complex before dawn Wednesday, banging on doors and demanding residents show identification.
Residents of the Cedar Run Apartments at 888 S. Onieda St. — just one of the locations in metro Denver targeted by Wednesday’s large-scale immigration enforcement operation — texted warnings to each other as masked officers flooded the area around 6 a.m., later loading zip-tied detainees onto a large bus outside the complex.
Hannah Strickline answered her door at Cedar Run to find “six heavily armed officers demanding ID,” she said. After she provided her identification, she told The Denver Post, they asked which of her neighbors might be undocumented.
“It’s insulting and infuriating because I would never snitch on my neighbors,” said Strickline, who’s a member of a tenants’ union organized at Cedar Run. “They have every right to be here. And I would never want to put anyone through that sort of stress.”
Crystal Villa, another Cedar Run resident of three years, said federal agents woke her up around 6 a.m. She showed a reporter Ring doorbell footage in which a man wearing a Homeland Security Investigations vest asked if she had drugs, if she was with anyone, if the agent could come into her apartment and if she spoke English.
She was born and raised in Colorado, Villa said while still dressed in her pajamas.
Villa had just purchased the Ring camera after hearing about the potential for ICE raids, she said.
“I was shocked,” she said of the early morning encounter. “This is crazy.”
Strickline said the Cedar Run is about 70% Spanish-speaking residents, mostly families with young kids. A playground behind the building was empty Wednesday as officers worked.
“People are scared,” she said. “And people who aren’t even undocumented are scared. We have dozens of armed officers banging on all doors, like we are all criminals. And no one wants that in their homes.”
Robert Iron Shield, a Native American from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, also awoke around 6 a.m. to loud banging on his door from federal agents. He presented his ID, passport and tribal documents and began live-streaming.
“We’re falling to the way of Nazi Germany,” he said of the raids.
Conditions at the sprawling apartment complex have deteriorated in recent years since new ownership took over in 2019, Strickline said. She’s lived in the building for 14 years. Now, conditions are practically unlivable, she said, with mold, pest infestations, lack of hot water and lack of heat. The area sometimes gets rowdy and loud, she said.
In an unsigned statement issued Wednesday, Gelt Venture Partners, the company that owns Cedar Run Apartments, said the property began accepting immigrant residents in coordination with the city of Denver roughly 18 months ago, and that the city paid for several months of rent and move-in fees for the new residents in the program.
“However, our attempt to help the city has resulted in numerous challenges, including suspected gang activity, unpaid rent and widespread significant damage throughout our complex,” the statement said. “Given current housing regulations and eviction policies, addressing these issues has been extremely difficult… The ongoing challenges on the property stem from a few problematic residents, creating a frustrating cycle where our attempts to mitigate issues are repeatedly undermined by damage and mistreatment.”
The statement went on to say the company is “hopeful” about finding a long-term solution with the city, that it doesn’t discriminate against residents based on their immigration status and that it won’t share “personal information” with “any unauthorized parties.”
Ali Shihab, who owns a business that abuts Cedar Run, said the complex has recently become dangerous. Residents in the apartments would work in the street repairing cars, he said, taking apart engines and remaking them.
“It got out of control in this area, to be honest,” he said. “Shootings, prostitution.”
Shihab immigrated legally to the U.S. from Iraq more than a decade ago.
“I hate seeing this,” he said, standing across the street and watching the raid. “But it was chaos.”
Shihab said his business’ surveillance video showed federal officers at the apartment complex as early as midnight.
A small crowd had gathered at the entrance of Cedar Run by about 9 a.m. As federal officers worked across the street, some in the crowd chanted in protest. A handful of residents stood on their balconies, cellphones in hand, watching as the officers worked. Others stood on the sidewalk, unable to get back into their units. One man complained about just finishing a 12-hour shift at work and being unable to get home.
The raid, which involved agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, was still ongoing by mid-morning. Activists with bullhorns shouted out information about people’s rights in multiple languages as federal officers detained people.
Nate Kassa, an organizer with the neighborhood support group East Colfax Community Collective, got the call around 6 a.m. that raids had begun. He said he jumped out of bed to provide information to residents at impacted apartments. Kassa said he was concerned about the apparent lack of warrants being shown.
“It’s infuriating,” he said. “These tactics are designed to spread fear and intimidation. We’re going to keep showing up.”
Eida Altman, who has been organizing Cedar Run tenants, including Strickline, under the Denver Metro Tenants Union, said her group quickly set about calling tenants there to advise them of their rights when they learned of the raid early Wednesday.
She said two people had been picked up by ICE outside of the property, and at least five people were detained from Cedar Run. She said FBI agents were also “going through” cars on the property.
“It’s disorienting,” she said. “We’re trying to figure it out.”
She noted that the properties in Denver and Aurora that were raided by federal authorities Wednesday are known as apartments with poor living conditions.
Altman said her group had been preparing Cedar Run tenants about their rights in anticipation of such an immigration raid.
But, she said, “There’s only so much you can do.”
Hours after the federal agents had left, the complex was quiet. Some residents peered out their doors before taking their dogs outside. The playground out back remained empty.
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