What’s Real and What’s Rumor As Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Begins

Amid last year’s national hysteria over Tren de Aragua — the Venezuelan gang that had allegedly “taken over” several apartment buildings in the Denver metro — then-presidential candidate Donald Trump came to Colorado to announce his plans for a massive crackdown on immigration, dubbed “Operation Aurora.” Now that Trump is in office, social media is rife with stories of ICE raids, security breaches, and people being detained — so how can you tell what’s fact and what’s fiction? Host Bree Davies sits down with Westword staff writer Bennito Kelty , who has been covering the immigration issue in his hometown of Aurora, to discuss the actual impacts of a second Trump presidency and if any of the rumors are true. Bree mentioned Bennito’s deep dive on GEO Group , the for-profit prison company running the Aurora ICE facility. She also mentioned Congress’s request for Mayor Johnston to come and testify on Denver’s sanctuary city policies in February. For more, the Colorado Sun recently reported that Trump’s Department of Justice recently ordered several local non-profits to stop their work, which will leave many people in the ICE facility in Aurora and at the immigration courts in Denver without access to legal representation. We’re doing a survey to learn more about our listeners. We’d be grateful if you took the survey at citycast.fm/survey — it’s only 7 minutes long. You’ll be doing us a big favor. Plus, anyone who takes the survey will be eligible to win a $250 Visa gift card–and City Cast Denver swag. Get your tickets to HEYDAY now! We’re putting on an indoor fair with urban flair, like a classic county fair but with a very cool Denver twist. Join us on March 8 for classic carnival games, vintage arcade games, Denver-themed balloon art, and a full day of grandstand entertainment, featuring some of your favorite guests from the podcast. It’s family friendly, too, if you wanna bring your kids. Get those tickets now at www.heydaydenver.com . For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm . Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬ Learn more about the sponsors of this January 29th episode: Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST Denver Art Musseum Clear Peak Fertility Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise