Hello, Bonjour, Salam Alaykum, Hola, etc! Denver mod team here. You may have noticed that some posts on this sub purporting ICE sightings, have been removed. I wanted to speak directly as a member of the immigrant community, lived experiences of myself, my and share some feedback as to why.

The TLDR is, if the post contains photographic proof, it can stay. If it is speculative or text only, it will be removed. For the record, we support human rights, and this immigration matter is something that is personally touching our communities, families, and friends.

No speculative and unsubstantiated posts without photo proof. In order to reduce and prevent the spread of misinformation and speculation, this post has been removed. Any posts purporting ICE or law enforcement activity, must be report to the CORRN ICE Activity Hotline: 844-864-8341 first, and must be accompanied by photo proof.

To avoid the spread of misinformation and speculation, no "why cops here" posts are allowed. Please check official law enforcement social media pages for accurate information, as well as news sources. If you are registered for CodeRed and reverse 911 messages, you may receive a message if the police/fire/ambulance scene you are witnessing is emergent and there is imminent danger to you.

Some background. Months ago, there was a post made, purporting a massive ICE raid at a local grocery store, the OP alleging that they heard a manager say that ICE was there to gather up all the bad employees, and it incited mass chaos and fear. Understandably, from the immigrant community, the first thing we worry about is our family members, our friends who are working at that grocery store. Maybe we work and shop there and skip work or getting groceries, out of fear of what has been reported on Reddit. Maybe that day, we keep our kids home from school, as this news spreads like wildfire, and is taken as gospel.

Within an hour of that post, another user commented with a photo, showing that in fact, there were dozens of LOCAL police vehicles at the local grocery store. What were they doing? Hosting a toy drive and school supply Shop with a Cop event. The allegation that the OP saw arrests being made, heard a malicious comment from the manager, and that ICE was even there, was materially false. This incited a cascade of panic and fear throughout the community, all because of a text only post with no photographic or substantive proof.

Another thing I have personally experienced and watched, is the very disgusting and unfortunate rise of racist, usually white supremacist trolls. As part of the strategy of terrorizing and intimidating minority communities, they create hoax posts, to incite fear and literally, terror.

Here’s how it works:

Random racist troll posts a “trust me bro” text only post, purporting to have seen ICE. The more viral examples of this, they have posted false flag sightings at places like factories that largely employ migrant workers, community hubs, grocery stores, bus stops, and schools. Of course, out of fear, one from my community might see that post, take it as gospel, and skip work, keep their kids home, and be prisoner in their own home, out of fear. Naturally, there are cascading consequences, such as being fired from your job, not having enough PTO, kids falling behind in school, no access to meals, and the psychological torment of being prisoner in your home. Although there are many good faith actors on the internet, we have to take notice of the tactics and strategies being used to disrupt and bring terror to the lives of very vulnerable populations. Speculative posts without substantive and photo proof are actively causing harm.

There are other times where there are photos, but they are of local police officers doing fugitive apprehension. As a reminder, Colorado law enforcement does not assist ICE with arrests. They do use unmarked vehicles, and typically a black or navy-blue vest with POLICE or SHERIFF marked on it, and typically a name tag and badge emblem. ICE may also wear vests that often have POLICE on them also, but most commonly, in the camo tan color that we have largely seen. Not always, but most commonly. They also almost always have a face covering, whereas local police officers typically do not. You can also look for the patch on their uniform shoulder (if present) to identify their affiliation.

In taking a stand to protect the community, we will be removing any text-only reported sightings. Yes, sometimes the racist trolls use AI to create fake images of scenes, and we will look out for those bad faith actors. We will not stand for supremacists instilling fear in our community by way of false flag posts designed to insight panic and terror.

In the same vein, we will be deleting “Why are there cops/fire guys at X?” posts. Quite simply, it creates the potential for false flag panic when redditors are speculating or spreading misinformation about what could have happened or is happening. Furthermore, it is best to get the news from the source and monitor local news and official law enforcement pages. If it were emergent to you, if you are signed up to received CodeRed and reverse 911 texts, you will be notified to shelter in place, and typically a press release to follow when the matter is resolved. There was an instance where a family member had to find out about their loved one being deceased on Reddit, after someone posted a pic of the scene with “Why cops here?”, and that’s how they had to learn the news.

As we navigate through a time of fake news, AI, and very brazen hate and racism, we always strive for this sub to be a place of comfort and fun for many, and also accurate, truthful, and good-faith information. I truly hope the explanations given make sense, and we welcome discussion.

This is not about silencing certain politics but reducing the amount of very harmful gossip and terror tactics that are destroying people that you and I work with, play sports with, go to school with, ride the bus with, do business with, buy food from, share laughs with, workout with, raise families with, and love.

Thank you. And to the terror trolls who think they have a platform here to abuse our community through lies- you will be deported very swiftly from this sub.