DENVER — Crystal Villa, a resident at Cedar Run Apartments, woke up to federal agents knocking on her door Wednesday morning — one of many people involved in the series of raids happening across the Denver metro area.
In a ring camera video she shared with Denver7, you can hear agents ask Villa if she has drugs in her home. She told them, "No." Then, they ask if they can come inside. She said, "No."
"It's a scary situation. You answer the door, you know, you see that, and right away you're like, 'What did I do?' But I didn't do anything. I knew I didn't do anything. So why would I let them like I said, why would I let them in my home? Yes, it's a scary situation. I was shaking right after I closed the door. Let me tell you, I was shaking like a leaf when I closed that door," Villa said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the property owner Gelt Venture Partners, said they were "approached about 18 months ago by Denver officials to help with the immigration crisis."
"Through the city’s program, we were assigned a number of people to our apartment complex and paid for their move in fees and several months’ rent," the spokesperson wrote. "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."
A spokesperson for the City of Denver denied these claims and said the city has been working to address crime in the area for 10 months.
Denver7 Investigates has been looking into the Cedar Run Apartments for weeks after tenants came forward with concerns about conditions at the complex and a lack of response from the landlord. It was deemed a crime hot spot nine months ago by Denver's mayor, who promised resources to address the problem.
Hans Meyer, an immigration lawyer, about the rights of people who get approached by federal agents.
He said documented or not, everyone has the right to deny law enforcement information if they show up without a warrant.
Like other lawyers Denver7 has spoken to, the phones at Meyer's firm have been ringing non-stop.
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Immigration attorney outlines rights for anyone detained in federal raids
"So we have a lot of people contacting us right now smartly to engage in some planning," Meyer said. "Because although some people may be able to be detained, many of them do have rights in the immigration system and have opportunities to be able to ask to stay in the country."
What happens next with the court system is what gets tricky for those undocumented.
"There's no right to counsel for people who are detained in immigration court," Meyer said. "That in turn, depends on pro bono resources and non-profit organizations."
Those free resources may not have the manpower, though, to represent everyone that needs them.
On the flip side, according to the American Immigration Council, the government will always be represented by an attorney who can argue on its behalf that deportation is needed.
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