On the morning of Wednesday, February 5th, at around 6am, we awoke to the sound of heavy, scuffling boots. We lifted blankets covering windows for the tiniest corner of visibility out, so as not to tip off the dozens of fully armed, local and federal, agents to the presence of a family with two small, still-asleep girls in bed. They banged on the door so the walls shook. In English, I heard them discuss having seen movement in the windows. They bellowed “POLICE – ABRE LA PUERTA”. The parents stayed frozen in total silence and darkness.
These buildings have had 24-7 Denver Metro Security presence placed by Property Solutions, supposedly there to “keep everyone safe”, and yet they casually let federal agents in and fraternized with them openly. In fact, a representative admitted to speaking to ICE “constantly” as part of their operations. Agents in nearly 20 vehicles swarmed the six residential buildings in bulletproof vests that contained a greater part of the alphabet – ATF, DEA, ERO, FBI, HSI, ICE, Police. They came with their own media crew, including a boom mic, as if ready to film snuff porn. Meanwhile, around 20 families in 14 units rapidly exchanged messages of terror and prayers in a group chat as the terror agents moved from building to building.
And yet, these are just the latest injustices on the rights of these tenants, and by far the most publicized. The truth is that they have been suffering for years, first under the neglectful and extortionist practices of CBZ Management, then succeeded by the unjust takeover of court-appointed Property Solutions and off-duty police force Denver Metro Security. While the City promised relocation support, the City is providing NONE and instead the to-be new owners (who are attempting to remain anonymous) are funding the eviction of these families these families have instead been subject to constant intimidation tactics that long preceded the ICE raid of February 5th, and those that remain are victimized and threatened every single day.
While pricey security costs have seen the establishment of expensive solar panel-powered surveillance and 24-7 cop presence, the tenants themselves have experienced weeks without heating, hot water (if water access at all), and now, even electricity (despite security having ample to power their high-tech cameras and lights). People who sought temporary refuge for themselves and their traumatized children in churches overnight found that they returned to boarded up units they could no longer access, far before the established closing date of February 18th. While HAND has steadily been offering financial assistance for individuals to move out, we have been threatened regularly with trespass charges – despite doing the work of the City while their personnel are nowhere to be found. In fact, here are the stats around our spending thus far (read the full update and donate to continue supporting tenants here: https://gofund.me/e8a66a1f):
FUNDS SPENT SO FAR: Between 11/15/24 – 2/15/25:
- $56,471.64 total was spent relocating 32 formerly CBZ-managed families by providing move-in assistance with application fees, first month’s rent, & security deposit
- $47,176.14 of that was spent on 24 families at the to-be-condemned Edge of Lowry
- $4,700.00 was spent on critical rental support for 4 families formerly at Fitzsimons Place on Nome St, which was condemned last year
- $4,595.50 was spent on critical rental support for 4 families at Whispering Pines on Helena St, another target during the last major ICE raid on the morning of February 5th
- As in 67 adults, 53 children, 4 pregnant women, & 3 senior citizens for a total of 127 individuals!!!
WHAT’S STILL NEEDED:
- We should be proud that, as a unified community, we were able to support the relocation of dozens of families into safe & dignified homes! That being said, the City of Aurora, Property Solutions, & Denver Metro Security have complicated the issue by intimidating tenants out of the building before they could be connected to assistance…
- Many have reached out for support due to continued housing instability that has followed these tenants, both due to the stain on rental history that CBZ caused, as well as the disgustingly xenophobic narrative perpetuated by their PR team & both local & national politicians. Based on those who contacted us for additional support, at least 40 people (26 adults & 14 children) have been displaced from Edge of Lowry due to intimidation tactics by the off-duty police force Denver Metro Security, which has been openly communicating with ICE. Many reached out from couches in friends’ apartments, shelters, cars, & the streets asking for support after their units were prematurely boarded up & they could no longer return to the building after receiving threats of detainment.
- 44 people (24 adults, 19 children, & 1 pregnant woman) from Whispering Pines are asking for assistance to escape dire conditions & continued threat of ICE, as well as 17 people (8 adults & 9 children) formerly from condemned Fitzsimons Place
Meanwhile, according to a representative of Denver Metro Security and Property Solutions, the City is NOT behind any assistance offered to tenants. Instead, an unnamed “private company” supposedly doesn’t have enough to offer support to all tenants… Despite spending millions on on-site, 24-7, police security (mostly patrolling kids on bicycles to and from school). Even after openly stating they communicate with ICE regularly, after incessantly having police knock on doors to remind folks every day of the impending deadline, they manage to convince desperate tenants to provide all their personal information in exchange for some abstract notion of assistance. When H.A.N.D. asked for it directly, they failed to provide a statement in-writing saying that this information would not be shared with any immigration enforcement agencies.
Since the security’s “liaison” person chose to attempt to start working with HAND following clear signs of tenants choosing to work with HAND over their police-escorted agents, despite Paula from Property Solutions refusing a meeting or any attempt to collaborate because she was “too busy”, they unable to produce any stories of success when it comes to people receiving financial assistance until some finally received support in the last few days, in a desperate final attempt to clear the building ahead of the deadline. In fact, one of the families who was supposed to receive $4,000 (after HAND demanded that they be offered at least as much to cover the maximum estimated move-in costs) instead was only offered a check of $1,000. Property Solutions did not bother to verify that they had a place to go or apartment to move into, or even if they could cash the check, which it turned out they couldn’t. This family of 3 adults, 2 children, and 1 infant ended up on the streets with nothing after being forced to clean and completely move out of their unit, with a check that couldn’t be cashed, reaching out to HAND afterwards stating that they were starving and houseless on the streets. By the time we met them to offer support, they had used whatever funds they had left to buy tickets out of town, discouraged by the hostile environment they had been shown in Colorado, so we met with them to offer food support for before and during their journey. Another family said they attempted to cash the check at a bank, but the bank struggled to approve the validity of the check given that the company that awarded it was so new that they couldn’t be verified… Leaving another family without a home and without promised resources.
Many of the families thanked H.A.N.D. and stated clearly that they knew that without the community intervening and supporting, most of them would have ended up houseless on the streets, or detained and deported. While the City and their minions, Property Solutions and Denver Metro Security, will likely claim victory for having cleared the building of tenants before the February 18th deadline, the reality is that small community organizations and individual community support are what protected these individuals and families from being cast aside and discarded. In fact, it was the City and its partners whose actions were counterproductive to rehousing efforts, such that H.A.N.D. is left picking up the pieces, continuing to support those who are still living lives of houselessness or incredible housing insecurity. Please join our efforts and support those who need it most by continuing to donate to our GoFundMe until we can be sure that these displaced families receive the new beginning they deserve: https://gofund.me/e8a66a1f
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