Social Policy

"Show Me Your Papers" law on the road to repeal as new report condemns it

State lawmakers have passed a bill that repeals a much-criticized 2006 law requiring local law enforcement to report anyone they suspect of being undocumented to federal immigration authorities. The bill, HB1258, now heads to the governor's desk. Immigrant advocate Justin Valas credits the bill's p ... More >>

Tom Tancredo offers his own Colorado Compact on Immigration Fairness

"Does the GOP have a death wish?" That's what former congressman, former gubernatorial candidate and longtime rabble-rouser Tom Tancredo asks, in the wake of a number of Republicans signing off last week on the Colorado Compact on Immigration. Tancredo, who left the Rrepublican Party to run for gov ... More >>

Supreme Court health care ruling: Advocates praise it, tout Colorado reforms

Big news today for Barack Obama and, you know, tens of millions of Americans across the country: The Supreme Court of the United States has finally issued its ruling on the Affordable Care Act, essentially deciding to keep most of it intact. And advocates in Colorado are cheering the news, saying it ... More >>

Immigration: Local activists praise, criticize Supreme Court's Arizona ruling

Today, the United States Supreme Court rejected three of four core provisions in Arizona's controversial immigration law -- but allowed the most hotly contested to remain. It is still legal for state police to stop, interview and detain people they have "reasonable suspicion" to believe entered the ... More >>

Colorado Immigrants Right Coalition's Julien Ross discusses his "spider bite moment"

Editor's note: This is the latest profile in Kelsey Whipple's ongoing series highlighting local political activists. For his first job, a preteen Julien Ross sold lemonade and lied about it. Or at the very least, he didn't tell the whole truth about it. The juice came from freshly squeezed lemons, ... More >>

Destined for Deportation chronicles the fight of two immigrants to stay in this country

Destined for Deportation begins with the personal. Jeanette Vizguerra, a mother of three children who are United States citizens and is now facing deportation, explains that she came to America not for money, but for safety. Her husband drove a bus in Mexico and was hijacked at gunpoint three times ... More >>

Update: ICE reviewing court summonses as part of immigration enforcement surge

Update: Immigration and Customs Enforcement has revised an earlier statement that ICE is screening traffic summonses in Aurora to identify undocumented immigrants who are fugitives, have been previously deported or have been convicted of crimes. The revised statement, sent two hours after the origin ... More >>

Immigration enforcement program phase-out won't allay advocates' worries

Local immigrant advocates aren't exactly elated at the news that the Obama administration plans to phase out a controversial program that allows local law enforcement to act as immigration officers. "At the end of the day, there's another elephant in the room," says Justin Valas, of the Colorado Imm ... More >>

Colorado Democrats commend Obama's "smarter immigration policy"

Colorado Democratic leaders are applauding the Obama Administration's newly proposed immigration policy, a measure that would permit undocumented spouses and children of United States citizens to remain in the country during the legal immigration process. Under current law, undocumented family memb ... More >>

Thanks Obamacare! website aims to turn partisan slur into positive term (VIDEO)

Obama caring.​The term "Obamacare" was originally conceived by opponents of President Barack Obama's health-care reforms as a way of hanging what they saw as a political albatross around his neck. But now, a group of Colorado activists have embraced the word with ThanksObamacare.org, a website ... More >>

ACLU urges schools to adopt policy banning school police officers from working with ICE

​ The American Civil Liberties Union has jumped in on the debate simmering in Carbondale and Glenwood Springs over whether school resource officers should be allowed to collaborate with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Lesbian couple fights deportation: Will judge allow undocumented partner to stay in U.S.?

​ In May, we told the stories of two GLBT immigrants living in Colorado and seeking asylum to stay in the United States forever. Their stories of discrimination and abuse in their home countries tested the limits of asylum law. On Friday, another local GLBT immigrant, a lesbian woman named Mrs ... More >>

Immigration and Customs Enforcement busts 81 "criminal aliens" in Colorado, Wyoming

​Immigration and Customs Enforcement's announcement of over 2,400 arrests -- 81 of them in Colorado and Wyoming -- stresses that ICE is focusing on rounding up criminal aliens. This emphasis makes sense given mounting evidence here and nationwide that assorted authorities are going well beyon ... More >>

Protest planned for Jeanette Vizguerra, community leader and mom facing deportation

Rights for All PeopleJeanette Vizguerra.​Jeanette Vizguerra, who has lived in Colorado for more than fourteen years, is the mother of three citizen children, owns a small business and is very involved in her community. She also lives in this country illegally and faces her final deportation co ... More >>

Colorado immigration partnership with feds wrongly focusing on non-criminals, study says

​ A program that delegates federal immigration enforcement powers to local officers is not netting as many serious criminals in Colorado as in other states, says a study released today by the Migration Policy Institute.

Michael Bennet dubbed powerful education force by Time magazine

Michael Bennet.​"School of Thought: 11 Education Activists for 2011," just published by Time magazine, contains some predictable names (Michelle Rhee) and some surprising ones (Jeb Bush?). But the highest ranking elected official cited is Senator Michael Bennet, who's been getting a gusher of ... More >>

Return to Sender

What would comprehensive immigration reform look like if the Feds got off their duffs?

Mexican Macro-economics

FAIR-y Tales

Immigration summit gathering of extremists eager for personal gain, says Dem Rep. Sal Pace

Sal Pace.​In yesterday's preview of an immigration summit organized by the Republican Study Committee, Senator Kevin Lundberg, the committee's chairman, insisted that he was more interested in finding solutions to a big problem than playing partisan games. But Representative Sal Pace, leader ... More >>

Kevin Lundberg on CO Republican immigration summit: Current policies have no teeth

Kevin Lundberg.​Speaking moments before the start of today's immigration summit at the State Capitol, Senator Kevin Lundberg, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, portrays the session as an attempt to tackle an important issue in a post-election environment that will give him and his fe ... More >>

Road to nowhere: The men who are caught transporting illegal immigrants rarely pay the price

Immigration busts: In fiscal 2010, ICE took 6,617 people from Denver area, 4,447 criminals

​Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is focusing on busting criminal aliens -- like the 78 people recently rounded up statewide. And there's more where they came from. ICE has just released statistics for fiscal 2010, which ended September 30. The arrestee total for the Denver area of re ... More >>

DREAM Act rejection will come back to haunt Republicans, warns CO immigrant advocate

At the rally.​On Monday, advocates rallied at North High School in favor of the DREAM Act, which would have provided a path to citizenship for undocumented graduates from U.S. high schools. (See a recap and photos here.) But yesterday, Senate Republicans stalled the measure, likely killing it ... More >>

Immigration rally in favor of DREAM Act tries to prove people power stronger than politics

​At 4 p.m. today, a rally will be held in support of the DREAM Act, a proposal that would allow select undocumented students who've lived in America for at least five years and graduate from a U.S. high school the chance to earn legal residency status. The measure faces steep obstacles -- but ... More >>

Letters: Monica Alonzo's coyotes story should be required reading on the immigration issue

Arizona immigration law: Critic tells CO reps not to go from bad policy to unconstitutional kind

Julie Gonzales.​At this writing, a delegation of Colorado lawmakers, including Representative Kent Lambert, is in Arizona to discuss how best to launch a version of the state's controversial immigration law here. To Julie Gonzales, political coordinator for the Colorado Immigrant Reform Coali ... More >>

Arizona immigration law: Boulder's proposal attacks policies placing immigrants at risk

Jane Brautigam.​In May, we told you about Boulder City Manager Jane Brautigam's authorization of a ban on travel to Arizona over SB 1070, that state's controversial new immigration law. At its 6 p.m. meeting tonight, the Boulder City Council will decide whether to continue the prohibition an ... More >>

Tom Tancredo's advice to President Obama about how to solve illegal immigration

Tom Tancredo.​Strange but true: Former congressman Tom Tancredo agrees with something in President Barack Obama said in his immigration-reform speech at American University yesterday -- specifically, his assertion that "our borders are just too vast for us to be able to solve the problem only ... More >>

Immigration reform must happen now, says Denver City Council proclamation

Chris Nevitt has something to proclaim.​The controversial Arizona immigration bill hasn't stopped any folks from coming into this country illegally yet. After all, it won't take effect until July. But it's certainly led to a bumper crop of proclamations, including denunciations by Denver Publi ... More >>

Arizona immigration bill: Colorado students plan afternoon protest walkout

An image from ColoradoImmigrant.org featuring participants from a previous event.​Yesterday, Denver Public Schools announced on a ban on all work-related travel to Arizona due to the recent passage of a controversial immigration bill that Republican gubernatorial hopeful Scott McInnis digs and ... More >>

Betsy Markey targeted by Gun Owners of America -- because of her health-care vote?

"Who isn't mad at me these days?"​In the immediate aftermath of yesterday's health-care vote in the U.S. House, Republican Party types have deemed a number of representatives nationwide as being ultra-vulnerable, with Betsy Markey's name coming up as often as anyone's. One reason: Markey voted ... More >>

Michael Bennet and health care: Live by the public option, or die by it

"Hey, Barack. Remember that public-option thing you used to be so hot on?"​Colorado's Michael Bennet is widely seen as being among the most vulnerable Democratic senators in advance of the November 2010 election -- hence President Barack Obama's fundraising visit to Denver last week before a p ... More >>

Jared Polis, health-care hero? Democracy For America thinks so

"Me a hero? Ah, shucks."​As President Barack Obama prepares to make his first State of the Union address tonight, the promise of a health-care bill actually earning passage looks pretty sick thanks to the election of Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown -- a man who Colorado candidates Scott McIn ... More >>

$1.5 million federal grant to help adults with disabilities in Colorado find jobs

An image from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing website​ The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (known affectionately as "hick-puff") didn't win any popularity contests this past summer when it unveiled changes in the way Medicaid payments would b ... More >>

Abortion rights a hill Diana DeGette's willing to die on in healthcare debate

Will Nancy Pelosi get so mad at Diana DeGette that she actually blinks?​Just because the House of Representatives passed a healthcare bill this weekend doesn't mean it'll stay passed. Denver congresswoman Diana DeGette is leading a group of reproductive-rights supporters who are mad as hell th ... More >>

Colorado's new Medicaid funding plan will leave disabled adults on the outside

Ed Perlmutter gets an earful at health-care meeting in Brighton

On Friday, we shared a video in which folks protesting healthcare reform in Pueblo compared Obamacare to Pol Pot and Adolph Hitler -- and this brand of overheated rhetoric is hardly isolated to that community. Over the weekend at an event in Brighton, pro-healthcare reform rep Ed Perlmutter was gr ... More >>

Read Archbishop Charles Chaput's argument for immigration reform

Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput. Denver Archibishop Charles Chaput is typically thought of as a conservative, and no wonder, since he regularly implies that voting for a politician who supports abortion rights is tantamount to helping the ghost of George Tiller section a fetus in its eighth month. ... More >>

Immigrant-rights activists kick off campaign

There's a painfully obvious division within the Denver population that's attributable to a broken immigration system, says Julie Gonzales, political coordinator for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. "A lot of people within the immigrant community feel like they have to separate themselves ... More >>

Tom Tancredo continues his free-speech tour at Providence College

Since leaving Congress earlier this year, past Westword profile subject Tom Tancredo has been taking his immigration-reform crusade to locations around the country -- and as documented in Alan Prendergast's April 15 blog "Obnoxious North Carolina Students Leave Tom Tancredo Speechless," he hasn't ... More >>

Did Governor Ritter flip-flop on needle exchange?

Photo from Wikipedia Commons.Bill Ritter once supported needle exchange, but now he's silent on the issue. Listen to Ritter's testimony on a 1998 bill seeking to legalize syringe exchange in Colorado. Colorado lawmakers last tackled the legalities of syringe exchange -- the topic of this week's fe ... More >>

Barack Obama gives principal Michael Johnston extra credit

Cesar Chavez Says

Yes, he was against illegal immigration -- but he was also pro-Aztlan.

Tancs for the Memories, Tom

Trial by Wire

There's lots of cash and carrying on over First Data's south-of-the-border business.

Russian Roulette

The bride says she married for love; her mother-in-law suspects it was money. The only person who can settle the dispute is dead.

In Sickness and in Wealth

Medicaid patients could be facing death by a thousand cuts.

You Can't Get There From Here

GETTING TESTY

A DISPUTE OVER AIDS TESTING ENSNARES A HEALTH OFFICIAL FROM COLORADO SPRINGS.