Officials reopen New Mexico private prison to hold migrants
ESTANCIA, N.M. – Officials have decided to reopen a private prison in New Mexico to hold local inmates as well as immigrants being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Torrance County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to open the detention center in the rural town of Estancia under an agreement with the federal agency.
The contract stipulates for ICE to pay the county nearly $2 million per month during the first year of prison use, allowing up to 714 immigrants to be housed.
The price will increase in subsequent years. Only adult men will be held in the facility.
Officials say the agreement will provide the county with 240 jobs.
Officials say the county will also sign agreement with private prison operator CoreCivic for it to run the facility and hire staff.
Hickenlooper primary challenger Julie Gonzales endorsed by national progressive group Indivisible
Ernest Luning
ernest.luning@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 1 hour ago
State Sen. Julie Gonzales’ bid to challenge U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper in Colorado’s Democratic primary got a boost Tuesday from Indivisible when the national arm of the progressive grassroots group endorsed the Denver lawmaker. The national group’s endorsement comes less...
10th Circuit rejects ‘penalty’ for children of naturalized citizens seeking visas
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 16 hours ago
The Denver-based federal appeals court joined three of its peers earlier this month and determined the child of a newly naturalized U.S. citizen is not moved to a longer visa line as a result of his parent gaining citizenship, and...
Colorado committee votes to rename César Chávez Day to Farm Workers Day
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 16 hours ago
A Colorado House committee has voted to rename the March 31 state holiday from César Chávez Day to Farm Workers Day, following a national shift prompted by sexual abuse allegations against Chávez. House Bill 1339 was introduced on Friday and...
Colorado Sen. Mike Weissman calls for cold water on heated hate speech
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 19 hours ago
Likening the recent record-setting warm temperatures to hot political rhetoric, Colorado Sen. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, pleaded for an end to death threats and other hate speech directed at lawmakers of both parties. “The increasingly tragic reality of our politics, however, like...
Ethics panel dismisses complaint against Colorado agency chief Dan Gibbs
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 15 hours ago
A state ethics panel has dismissed a complaint against Dan Gibbs, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. The complaint, filed in December 2021 by the Republican-affiliated group Defend Colorado, alleged Gibbs awarded the think tank Keystone Policy...
Denver airport hasn’t had notice ICE agents will assist TSA yet. Wait times are short, though
Bernadette Berdychowski
bernadette.berdychowski@denvergazette.com
Updated 19 hours ago
As President Donald Trump deployed immigration agents to help U.S. airports manage hours‑long security lines during the partial government shutdown, Denver International Airport remained relatively calm on Monday. At the nation’s third‑busiest airport, TSA PreCheck lanes remained open to start...
Appeals court recognizes longer window to sue insurers for withholding policy details
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 11 hours ago
Colorado’s second-highest court split with its own prior decision earlier this month and concluded injured motorists have two years, not one, to sue insurance companies for withholding relevant information about an at-fault driver’s policy. In 2019, Colorado lawmakers enacted a measure to...
Trump open to $5 billion ICE funding cut if SAVE Act package passes
Zach LaChance, Washington Examiner
zach.lachance.washington.examiner@gazetteedit.wpenginepowered.com
Updated 23 hours ago
President Donald Trump signaled he is open to a $5 billion funding cut for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement if the Senate passes the Save America Act, along with other amendments. “I don’t think we should make any deal with...
Appeals court decides free speech cases, error-prone judge reversed again | COURT CRAWL
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 23 hours ago
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. The state’s Court of Appeals decided multiple cases implicating free speech rights, plus Colorado’s most error-prone judge was reversed on appeal yet again. Heard on...
It’s time to let unaffiliated voters caucus | Vince Bzdek
Vince Bzdek
vince.bzdek@gazette.com
Updated 24 hours ago
There’s no getting around it: Colorado’s 3,000 county caucuses, which just wrapped up recently, left half the electorate out in the cold. Since unaffiliated voters now make up 51% of all Colorado voters, a majority of Colorado electors are barred...
PREV
PREVIOUS
OUT WEST ROUNDUP | Video game could help steer drones; Wyoming coal giant files for bankruptcy
UTAH Video game effort could help regulate future drone traffic SALT LAKE CITY – Drones ferrying medical supplies, packages and even pizza could one day be crisscrossing the skies above U.S. cities, and a team at the University of Utah is working with regulators to keep that future traffic in check using a video game. […]
Final results of Denver election: Magic mushroom measure's win confirmed
The Denver Elections Division released its final official results on Thursday from the May 7 general election. None of the outcomes changed after the military and overseas ballots were counted. Initiative 301, which made Denver the first city in the nation to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms, padded its lead in the final count, winning by 2,291 votes, […]