As law enforcement agencies begin carrying out raids in cities around the country, including Denver, thousands of people are taking to the streets to defend immigrant rights in the face of mass deportations by the Trump administration.

An estimated 2000 people gathered at the Colorado State Capitol on Saturday after federal immigration raids began Wednesday morning. Similar gatherings happened nationwide, organized online by the “50 protests, 50 states, one day” or 50501 movement, which coordinated protests in all 50 state capitols. 

The protests have denounced deportations, attacks on LGBTQ+ rights and other planned initiatives by the Trump administration. 

It comes as political organizing in Denver swells, with the People’s March on Jan. 18, just days before Trump’s inauguration — inspired by the 2017 Women’s March, which brought 100,000 people into the city. 

Two weeks ago, Aurora saw hundreds of people come together in freezing temperatures to support the area’s immigrant community, particularly Venezuelan immigrants in The Edge at Lowry apartment complex. 

The complex has been the center of controversy since last summer, when a video showing armed men entering an apartment made national news and was referenced by Trump during the presidential debate.

Both Aurora and Denver have seen highly publicized raids since last Wednesday by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other law enforcement agencies.

These raids have been characterized to the press by law enforcement agencies as targeted towards specific individuals suspected of engaging in gang activity, but ABC News found that federal agents are instead going door-to-door, asking for residents’ identification and in some cases, to enter their apartments without a warrant.

Tom Homan, a senior immigration official in the Trump Administration, claimed that the Wednesday raids did not achieve ICE’s goal of arresting 100 members of the Tren de Aragua gang because of news media leaks.

On his first day in office, President Trump signed a number of executive orders, one of which cut funding and sent a stop-work order to the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMAIN), a Colorado non-profit offering free legal services to undocumented immigrants. 

Because of Denver’s status as a sanctuary city and the busing of immigrants to Colorado by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, there are many people in need of legal services, but Colorado has one of the lowest rates of legal representation for undocumented immigrants.

As communities mobilize across Colorado, it’s happening at DU too. 

On Sunday, a petition to prevent ICE from appearing at the DU/CU Boulder Public Interest Career Fair reached over 1,500 signatures in 24 hours, resulting in the removal of ICE/OPLA from the list of participating employers. 

The Student Solidarity Coalition, an alliance of student organizations and affinity groups, also recently called upon the DU administration to refuse to comply with ICE and vocally “distance this institution from actions undertaken by the Trump administration when the actions impede the rights and safety of racial, ethnic, neurodivergent, gender and sexual minorities.” 

At DU, in Colorado and across the country, it’s clear that even as the Trump administration expands its mass deportation efforts, they won’t be doing so without resistance.