Overview:
Ollin Cafetzin in Aurora is serving as a community hub and organizing space as concerns over ICE activity grow.
As fears about increased immigration enforcement ripple through Aurora, one East Colfax cafe has become more than a place to grab coffee. Ollin Cafetzin, which translates to “Movement Coffee,” is an Indigenous, Chicano/Mexican-owned cafe in Aurora that actively supports the community’s resistance to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions.
Cynthia Moreno-Romero and Jason Romero, co-founders, designed the space to serve as both a coffee shop and a gathering place for “pláticas” (conversations), organizing and cultural connections. With ICE activity continuing to raise concerns in immigrant communities, Ollin has evolved into what its founders refer to as a “safe zone” for all community members, regardless of immigration status.
“The intention behind creating Ollin was to create a space for people of color where they can be reflected in our offerings,” Moreno-Romero said. “We pay tribute to history and have cultivated it to be like a political home for others. There have been political organizers that have come to utilize [this space] and train people. I am seeing more of the social capital that I’ve built [grow].”
A community hub during ICE concerns
During citywide walkouts and protests against ICE on Jan. 30, Ollin remained open and hosted a picket sign-making workshop. In an Instagram video, Jason Romero stated the cafe chose to stay open to serve as a gathering space while businesses across Denver closed in protest.
“Ollin Cafetzin stands against ICE, colonialism and institutional racism, not just today but every day,” Romero said in the video. “As a small worker and movement center and community space, we are choosing to remain open all day, as movements also require spaces to gather, to learn, to grieve and to sharpen analysis and multiple ways to organize. This work is our everyday practice: organize, connect and educate.”
One of the cafe’s most controversial policies is its refusal to serve ICE agents in uniform. Although Moreno-Romero clarifies they have yet to enforce the policy, they have a sign in the venue that states, “Absolutely NO ICE allowed. You are not permitted to enter this space without a valid judicial warrant signed by a judge. This is a safe space for our community. No harassment will be tolerated.”
The idea was inspired by Hasta Muerte Coffee in Oakland, California, which gained national attention for refusing to serve uniformed law enforcement.
“I think it can be scary because you’re targeting yourself,” Moreno-Romero said. “But I think from everything I view and stand for, I’m like, ‘Why wouldn’t I use this platform for something like that [too].’ This [policy] comes from a place of trauma and informed policy because it is given from my experience working with folks who have unpacked from police interactions and how some experiences have impacted my community and family.”
She said her background in social work shaped the decision.
“If we allow these officials who are constantly oppressing our community, as a social worker but also a workers’ rights organizer, it will probably go against my values to allow people into the space that I believe is sacred and safe,” Moreno-Romero said. “I would be putting people at risk if [we allowed] ICE to enter here and I don’t want people to come in and think they have to relive a trauma or be concerned with dealing with ICE.”
Gathering space for expression and belonging
For regulars like Xochipilli Salazar, the cafe offers more than coffee. “I love the sense of community,” said Salazar, a tattoo artist and a Denver native painter, about the coffee shop. “It’s a space where I can feel safe and welcomed. It’s a safe space where you can speak your ideals and speak things that go against the grain of what society views as.”
Salazar said Ollin has displayed artwork that other galleries declined.
“[Ollin] has empowered me to have a voice,” Salazar said. “I’ve had experiences with galleries where my work’s been pulled for being too much at times, but here they’ll happily display [it]. So it doesn’t put me in a place where I’m shy to share my voice, and it empowers me to share these ideas and I’m able to have an honest conversation. I feel safe giving them anything that I create.”
Carina Banuelos-Harrison is another regular who comes to Ollin to feel safe and to be with her community members during these times. She is a Denver native who runs the nonprofit Art and Color Collective, which showcases artists’ work throughout the city. According to Banuelos-Harrison, the cafe has served as a gathering place for people to share information and band together in response to recent events.
“When I was here last Friday, I met with a few people and someone gave me a little zine about what to do when/if ICE is around; how do you protect yourself/community?” Banuelos-Harrison said. “I thought to myself, ‘These are the types of things that people come here to be able to inform others about. People are going to take this information and they are going to use it intentionally to help our community.’ We need these types of spaces to prepare for when things might happen. This makes me feel a little bit better and safer knowing we have this space here.”
More than politics
Although this space has proven useful for political gatherings, Moren-Romero emphasizes its versatility.
“I also think that everything is not always political,” Moreno-Romero said, “but I do think every event has a purpose, either to cultivate joy, highlight talent in the community or even just unpacking, connecting and engaging in dialouge.”
The cafe hosts children’s events, book clubs and monthly markets featuring local vendors and artists. Moreno Romero said Aurora’s diversity makes the cafe’s presence especially meaningful.
“We are in Aurora, which is one of the most diverse parts of the state,” she said. “I think recognizing that we’re all migrants from somewhere and that we are in a diverse community that needs a lot of services is important. We serve as a base where folks can just be themselves and exist in society.”
Ollin Cafetzin’s mission has become even more urgent as federal immigration enforcement has expanded in Colorado in recent months, with increased ICE activity reported throughout the metro area. While federal officials claim the operations target people with criminal warrants or final removal orders, immigrant advocacy groups claim the increased presence has instilled fear in mixed-status communities.
In response, businesses, schools, and community organizations have distributed “Know Your Rights” information, held workshops to prepare residents for interactions with immigration agents, and protested ICE on the streets. Moreno-Romero sees these efforts as reflecting deeper historical cycles of displacement and resistance that shape the cafe’s mission.
“When I was thinking of the concept of Ollin, it was important to embody the Indigenous roots and acknowledge the land and connection to coffee and history,” Moreno-Romero said. “So now, fast forward to 2025, and we look at patterns in history and see that they are essentially repeating themselves and we’re being impacted. I think it’s important to bridge the services [to the people] that Ollin offers, and I think the people we are drawing are wanting to organize against the social conditions that we’re currently going through.”
