WEEK OF FEBRUARY 6, 2025
VOLUME 37| ISSUE 6
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Rep. Elizabeth Velasco speaks at a press conference on Jan. 22.
JACKIE RAMIREZ
• Vestas to lay off 200 employees •27J Schools moves online-only Dec. 1
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BUSINESS LOCAL
Coloradans take a stand against Trump’s immigration agenda BY LONDON LYLE SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
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LOCAL OBITUARIES LEGALS CLASSIFIED
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Legislators, immigrants and community activists from across Colorado gathered at the state Capitol just two days after President Donald Trump promised to carry out the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history during his inaugural address. Reps. Junie Joseph and Naquetta Ricks, who emigrated from Haiti and Liberia, respectively, hosted the press conference in partnership with Motus Theater’s UndocuAmerica project, which uses storytelling to share the realities faced by undocumented immigrants and mixedstatus families. Speakers highlighted the experiences of immigrant communities in Colorado and opposed policies that
they say sow fear and division. Sen. Julie Gonzales spoke up for the many individuals standing on the steps behind her: immigrants of all ages and statuses who she said enriched Colorado’s economy and culture. “Here you see represented before you business leaders, healthcare workers, educators, legislators. We make Colorado run, and we are stronger together,” Gonzales said. She criticized Trump’s rhetoric on undocumented immigrants, calling his comments “harmful mischaracterizations” and “false narratives.” Gonzales also raised concerns over the new administration abandoning a set of previously established guidelines for ICE officers that barred them from entering some public spaces like hospitals and public schools.
OBITUARIES: 6 | BRIEFS: PAGE 7 | CALENDAR: PAGE 8
“Hospitals, schools, weddings, funerals, churches are now places where ICE thinks that they can come forward and conduct their activities. Well, that doesn’t look like safety to me,” she said. Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, the first queer Mexican-born legislator in Colorado and a co-chair of the Latino Caucus, spoke about the contributions of immigrants and the challenges they continue to face in her community. “We want access to clean air and clean water. We want our families to be safe. We want to be able to thrive. We want to look for the American Dream and make our communities grow, and all of that would not be possible without immigrants,” Velasco said. Velasco said despite her professional background working as a firefighter and emergency first responder, she has still
faced discrimination due to her heritage, which she says is not a unique experience. “I have still been told to go back to my country. And this is the reality for many of us, that we are told again and again that we don’t belong when we are making our nation better,” she said. Cristian Solano-Cordova, former student body president at MSU Denver, a Motus Theater UndocuAmerica monologist and a DACA recipient, co-read his personal story alongside Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty. Solano-Cordova’s family crossed the desert to enter the U.S. when he was just three years old, and his little sister was born in the U.S. several years later. SEE AGENDA, P5
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