More than 100 members of the Tren de Aragua gang were targeted during an ICE raid at apartment buildings near Denver on Wednesday.

The high-profile operation appeared to be one of the largest targeted raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since President Donald Trump took office on a promise to deport immigrants with criminal records.

The Trump administration said they were targeting criminals in Denver and Aurora. We asked federal agents how many of the people arrested were violent criminals.

Federal agencies have been carrying out multiple immigration enforcement operations Wednesday in at least four locations in Aurora and Denver.

Federal law enforcement authorities on Wednesday morning conducted immigration raids in Denver and Aurora, multiple agencies confirmed. Why it matters: The raids are the first large-scale immigration enforcement in metro Denver under President Trump,

Federal officials said they were targeting over 100 alleged members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang with prison origins that has expanded throughout the Americas.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement along with the Department of Homeland Security and several other agencies are in Denver and Aurora as part of a multi-location immigration enforcement operation Wednesday morning.

President Donald Trump’s administration went to court Thursday to challenge sanctuary policies in the state of Illinois, Cook County and the city of Chicago that limit the powers of state and local police to assist federal law enforcement on immigration-related matters.

The U.S. Justice Department sued the state of Illinois and city of Chicago on Thursday, accusing the Democratic strongholds of unlawfully interfering with Republican President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration and seeking a court order blocking so-called sanctuary laws.

Local law enforcement agencies play a limited role in immigration law, but that might change during Trump's promised mass deportation operation.