Did ICE agents leave death cards in Vail and Avon?

1. What advocates say happened: cards found in abandoned cars after ICE stops

Voces Unidas, a Glenwood Springs immigrant-rights nonprofit, alerted authorities after family members and advocates found ace-of-spades playing cards in at least two — and by some accounts several — cars left on Highway 6 and elsewhere after occupants were detained in what the group characterized as staged or “fake” traffic stops near Minturn, Eagle-Vail and Avon; the cards reportedly carried the Denver ICE field office name and Aurora detention-center contact information ^{[4] [1] [2]}.

2. How many people were detained and where reporting ties them

Multiple outlets independently verified that roughly eight to nine people were detained during the operations on the January date cited by advocates — eight detained after traffic stops and one detained while walking to a bus stop — and Voces Unidas and local reporting say those individuals were sent to the Aurora ICE processing/detention facility ^{[3] [4] [5]}.

3. The cards’ symbolism and why the term “death cards” is used

Reporters noted the ace of spades has a fraught history: it has been used as a racist emblem by certain extremist groups and was historically referenced as a “death card” during the Vietnam War; advocates and lawmakers describe leaving such a card as an intimidation tactic rooted in racial violence, which has helped propel the story beyond a local arrest operation into state and federal scrutiny ^{[4] [2] [6]}.

4. Official responses: ICE, DHS and state politicians

ICE publicly condemned the action of “those leaving” the cards and said the agency does not tolerate such conduct, while the Department of Homeland Security has opened an investigation into the reports; Colorado Democrats in Congress and state officials have demanded independent briefings and investigations into the stops, including whether federal agents impersonated local police by using sirens on unmarked vehicles, which local leaders and Voces Unidas allege happened ^{[7] [8] [6] [9]}.

5. Evidence chain and limitations: what the reporting confirms and what remains unproven

Contemporary reporting documents photos of at least one ace-of-spades card provided to Voces Unidas and multiple eyewitness accounts and videos confirming ICE activity and the abandoned cars, but none of the available stories contains a public, conclusive admission or forensic chain tying an individual ICE agent to the act of placing the cards; media accounts consistently attribute the discovery of cards to families and advocates, and note federal investigators are still fact‑finding ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

6. Alternate interpretations and implicit agendas in coverage

Advocates frame the cards as deliberate intimidation by ICE personnel and several outlets repeat that framing; ICE’s wording — condemning “those leaving” the cards — subtly distances the agency from direct responsibility and signals an intent to investigate internally, an answer that may aim to blunt political fallout; state lawmakers pressing for independent reviews reflect political pressure to treat the matter as possible misconduct rather than isolated mischief ^{[7] [6]}.

7. Bottom line: did ICE agents leave death cards in Vail and Avon?

Reporting establishes that ace-of-spades “death cards” were found in multiple vehicles abandoned after ICE detained occupants near Vail and Avon, and that the cards bore ICE contact information, but the publicly available reporting does not yet provide definitive proof that ICE agents themselves placed the cards; DHS has opened an investigation to determine responsibility and intent, and that probe will be the key source for a definitive conclusion ^{[1] [3] [7]}.