Community leaders rally, demand unity amid increased ICE activity

Why it matters: Immigrant advocates, including Jeanette Vizguerra, community leaders, artists and a state lawmaker urged unity against what they characterize as aggressive immigration enforcement.

• Several speakers called for accountability — and some openly called for abolishing ICE.

Driving the news: Dozens gathered at the Colorado State Capitol's West Foyer on Friday to discuss the direct impact of ICE throughout metro Denver.

• Friday's speakers urged residents to stay connected through notification systems, like the Colorado Rapid Response Network, which has nearly 7,000 volunteers statewide, according to its co-creator Jordan Garcia.

What they're saying: State Rep. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, called the Trump administration's response to two fatal shootings by federal immigration officers in Minnesota "Orwellian."

Reality check: Colorado hasn't experienced the same level of violent ICE encounters reported in states like Minnesota.

• But federal authorities carried out multiple large-scale enforcement operations in metro Denver last year, and community leaders say local anxiety remains high.

Zoom in: Fears of immigration enforcement recently kept some locals from publicly celebrating Lunar New Year, Asian American community organizer Tran Nguyen-Wills said.

• Nguyen-Wills said conversations about immigrants and migrants should explicitly include Asian Americans, who she added have also been targeted by federal immigration authorities.

Zoom out: ICE arrested more people per day in 2025 than at any other point in the past decade in the U.S., a new study by University of Colorado Boulder found.