Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Law Enforcement

Protests over ICE center in Hudson reveal liberal hypocrisy
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Protests over ICE center in Hudson reveal liberal hypocrisy

By RMV Editorial Board Hundreds gathered outside a dormant prison in tiny Hudson this week. They braved freezing cold to protest plans for a new ICE detention center. Signs demanded justice. CBS Colorado captured the scene. https://youtu.be/D0iUjF-7B5s?si=MRLq2wBXKyFbYqqP One organizer told reporters the facility would not protect or serve communities. A resident feared people packed like sardines in a can. Another warned expansion drives families into shadows and erodes trust. The last census puts Hudson at 1,651 people. Someone at the protest warned that a 1,200-bed detention center would somehow double the town overnight.  That only works if detention beds are treated as permanent neighbors, or if the facility somehow brings in far more p...
A new session, same defiance: How Colorado’s immigration policy put ideology over enforcement
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

A new session, same defiance: How Colorado’s immigration policy put ideology over enforcement

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado lawmakers are walking into the 2026 session with the budget already tight. They’re also bracing for more legal fights with Washington. New bills tied to ICE enforcement are moving early, including one that would expand the state’s ability to sue over immigration-related rights claims. That push comes as Colorado is already in federal court over immigration laws passed last session. In Senate Appropriations on April 11, Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer zeroed in on SB25-276's price tag, asking whether its costs would come out of the legislature's roughly $7.5 million set-aside for new mandates and litigation risks. The answer was a quick "Yes"—no hesitation, no alternative funding source offered. Democrats introduced Senate Bill...
Polis Says Colorado Police Can Work With DEA Despite Sanctuary Law
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Polis Says Colorado Police Can Work With DEA Despite Sanctuary Law

By The Denver Gazette Gov. Jared Polis on Friday insisted that local law enforcement officers in Colorado can — and should — work with federal drug enforcement authorities to go after criminal activity. An official of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency earlier said Colorado’s “sanctuary” laws, notably its prohibition against cooperating with federal authorities on illegal immigration matters, are having a “chilling effect” on law enforcement’s ability to pursue drug cartels operating in the state. “There’s always a matter of making sure local line officers are educated in our laws and that they know that they’re able to work with our federal partners on criminal matters,” Polis told The Denver Gazette. “So, it doesn’t shock me that there are some line officers somewhere ...
SB26-005: Colorado Bill Opens State Suits for ICE-Related Rights Violations—Even Against Private Actors
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

SB26-005: Colorado Bill Opens State Suits for ICE-Related Rights Violations—Even Against Private Actors

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado lawmakers have introduced Senate Bill 26-005—legislation that would allow lawsuits in state court when an individual claims their rights under federal law have been violated as a result of civil immigration law enforcement. This bill creates a new state-level cause of action tied specifically to immigration enforcement activity. Its reach is broad. The text applies to “any person whether or not under color of law,” language pulled directly from the bill as introduced. The prime sponsors of the bill are Sen. Mike Weissman, Sen. Julie Gonzales, Rep. Javier Mabrey, and Rep. Yara Zokaie. It has been sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee—which Weissman chairs. That matters. He will be able to control how f...
From Obstruction to Oppression: How the Media Rewrites ICE Enforcement
The Federalist, Approved, Commentary, National

From Obstruction to Oppression: How the Media Rewrites ICE Enforcement

By: M.D. Kittle | Commentary, The Federalist Corporate media outlets have covered the Minneapolis ICE story like they’ve covered much of Homeland Security’s efforts to secure the homeland: dishonestly. Aliya Rahman says she feels “lucky to be alive,” that the days since federal law enforcement officials dragged her out of her car have been “traumatizing and overwhelming.”  Corporate media outlets will tell you that, too. All of them. The same story, the same narrative. The “disabled woman” was just trying to get to her doctor’s appointment, they report, pushing the left’s message that Rahman is another victim of President Donald Trump’s Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents and their roundup of poor “undocumented” immigrants. What they wo...
Arrest Made After Explosions Damage High Line Canal Trail Near Denver
CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Arrest Made After Explosions Damage High Line Canal Trail Near Denver

By Austen Erblat | CBS Colorado An 18-year-old Colorado man has been arrested and now faces multiple charges related to recent explosions that damaged the High Line Canal Trail near Denver. The man, who was not identified by police, is accused of setting off multiple homemade explosive devices along the canal, mostly between October and December. Cherry Hills Village Police, however, said they observed a suspicious person on the trail through police cameras on Jan. 6. The suspect who was described by police in a public alert in December was seen riding a "higher wattage" e-bike with a dark frame, wide tires, and handlebar mittens, and the department said the person they saw on Jan. 6 had "clothing and mode of transportation" that matched previous descriptions...
When Rhetoric Escalates: How Polarizing Language Shapes Public Conflict
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

When Rhetoric Escalates: How Polarizing Language Shapes Public Conflict

By Shaina Cole | Commentary, Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Political speech extends well beyond the moment it’s expressed. Words travel. They settle into public discourse and shape how authority, disagreement, and risk are understood over time.  Research shows that rhetoric does more than mirror tension. In certain conditions, it redirects it—especially when government leaders frame conflict in threatening or moral terms. That context helps explain why the White House published an article titled “57 Times Sick, Unhinged Democrats Declared War on Law Enforcement.” The article quotes Democrat state governors, congressmen, and other public figures whose statements the administration has characterized as contributing to a hostile environment for federal la...
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Fentanyl Fuels Deadly Year in Denver Despite Major Drug Seizures

By Michael Braithwaite | The Denver Gazette Bundles of fentanyl pills seized by the Rocky Mountain Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration during an October operation that resulted in over 1 million seized pills. (Courtesy, DEA RMFD)      Fatal fentanyl overdoses in Denver rose by nearly 25% in 2025 to the second-highest total in the past half decade, according to preliminary data from the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment. Within the city, 346 people died last year from fatal fentanyl doses, up from 277 the year before, which is second to only 2023 in the number of fatal fentanyl overdoses this decade, according to the data. The trend matched that of overall drug overdoses in the city, which rose from 4...
New Colorado Nonprofit Targets Judges and DAs Accused of Being Soft on Crime
Complete Colorado, Approved, State

New Colorado Nonprofit Targets Judges and DAs Accused of Being Soft on Crime

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER — Two elected officials representing a hefty swath of the Front Range are teaming up with a Colorado radio host because they say they have had enough of rogue judges releasing violent criminals onto the streets, only to repeat offend. Their desire to change that trajectory led them to form a new non-profit educational group aimed at shining a light on those they believe need to move on from the bench. Conservative talk show host Jeff Hunt, State Rep. Dan Woog (R-Frederick), and 4th Congressional District CU Regent Frank McNulty (R-Highlands Ranch), have joined forces to form Law and Order Action, which they say is “dedicated to holding pro-crime judges, district attorneys and lawmakers accountable.” Woog’s legislat...
Colorado Homeland Security Probes AI-Generated Hoax Threats To Schools
CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Homeland Security Probes AI-Generated Hoax Threats To Schools

By Jennifer McRae | CBS Colorado The Colorado Division of Homeland Security investigated threats at nearly a dozen schools across Colorado on Wednesday. According to investigators, at least 11 schools received threats by phone and email, including schools in the Douglas County School District, Littleton Public Schools, Frisco, Alamosa, and Buena Vista. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT CBS COLORADO