COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — More than 100 immigrants suspected of being in the United States illegally were taken into custody early Sunday following a federal raid on an illegal after-hours nightclub in Colorado Springs, according to authorities.
Footage released by the Drug Enforcement Administration showed agents outside the building announcing their presence and ordering patrons to exit with their hands raised. Additional video captured the chaos as dozens of people fled through the nightclub’s entrance after federal agents shattered a window to gain access. Later, dozens of handcuffed suspects were seen standing along a sidewalk awaiting transportation.
The raid came amid President Donald Trump’s renewed immigration crackdown during his second term in office. His aggressive approach to immigration enforcement has expanded executive power and repeatedly clashed with efforts by federal judges to impose limits. Trump’s hardline policies have led to the detention of more than 1,000 international college students—some of whom have since had their legal statuses temporarily restored—and significantly reduced immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Colorado Springs is waking up to a safer community today,” one official said. Colorado Springs, the state’s second-largest city, sits about 70 miles south of Denver.
Authorities said more than 300 law enforcement officers and agents from multiple federal, state and local agencies participated in the operation. The nightclub had been under investigation for several months for alleged criminal activities including drug trafficking, prostitution and other violent crimes, according to officials. Cocaine was among the narcotics discovered inside the establishment.
“When the cops showed up at the door, most of the drugs hit the floor,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge David Pullen during a news conference.
Investigators also seized an undisclosed number of firearms during the operation, Pullen said.
Trump posted the DEA’s raid footage on his social media platform, Truth Social, writing, “A big Raid last night on some of the worst people illegally in our Country — Drug Dealers, Murderers, and other Violent Criminals, of all shapes and sizes.”
Pullen estimated that more than 200 people had been inside the nightclub at the time of the raid. Among those detained were a dozen active-duty military members, who authorities said were either patrons or working as armed security. Several other patrons were arrested on outstanding warrants, though officials did not immediately disclose the nature of those charges.
Pullen did not identify the nationalities of those detained.
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Colorado temporarily blocked deportations of immigrants facing removal under Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century law that the administration has used in its efforts to accelerate expulsions.
The nightclub raid underscores the heightened intensity of immigration enforcement actions under Trump’s second term, as federal authorities continue aggressive crackdowns on illegal activity tied to undocumented immigrants across the country.
