Donald Trump
Afghan translator now in Denver vetted for 2 years before special visa was approved
DENVER – President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily barring some immigrants and refugees from predominantly-Muslim nations has created confusion among those affected by the order and lawyers and government officials tasked with upholding it.
Lawyers and Trump administration officials worked through the weekend to figure out exactly to whom the ban applies. Continue reading
Colorado politicians, organizations react to Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to US Supreme Court
DENVER – Politicians and political organizations reacted swiftly Tuesday evening to President Donald Trump’s nomination of Colorado judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
If confirmed, Gorsuch would be the first Colorado Supreme Court justice since Byron White was picked by John F. Kennedy in 1962.
A roundup of reactions from Colorado’s members of Congress and other organizations:
Colorado’s House Republican delegation (Reps. Ken Buck, Scott Tipton, Mike Coffman, Doug Lamborn):
“The nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court is welcome news. Judge Gorsuch’s record in the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit shows that he will defend the original intent of our Founding Fathers and preserve the fundamental rights of Americans protected by the Constitution. It will be great to see a Coloradan serve on the country’s highest court, and considering he was confirmed for his current position by voice vote in the U.S. Senate in 2006, we encourage our Colorado colleagues in the U.S. Senate to support Judge Gorsuch’s swift confirmation.”
Rep. Ken Buck, R-CO:
“I commend the President’s nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by the untimely death of Justice Antonin Scalia. I’m confident Judge Gorsuch will succeed in the Supreme Court because he holds sound judicial interpretation in such high regard. As a Coloradan, I know Mr. Gorsuch will take his common sense values with him to the nation’s highest court.”
Sen. Cory Gardner, R-CO:
“Judge Gorsuch is one of our country’s brightest legal minds with significant experience as a federal judge and a private litigator. A former Supreme Court clerk for Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy, Judge Gorsuch has learned from some of the most exceptional, disciplined, and faithful interpreters of the law. He is an ardent defender of the Constitution and he has the appropriate temperament to serve on the nation’s highest court. Judge Gorsuch also adds to the court’s Western perspective, with his understanding of uniquely Western issues like water and public lands issues. I’m enthusiastic about the native Coloradan’s nomination and will work to ensure that his confirmation process is fair, thorough, and expedient.”
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-CO:
“President Trump has repeatedly promised that his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court would be someone who supports overturning Roe v. Wade. We have no reason to believe he has changed his mind. That’s what makes this nomination especially troubling for women all across the country. Judge Gorsuch needs to clarify his position on women’s right to access and determine their own reproductive health care at a time when seven in 10 Americans support a woman’s constitutionally-protected right to choose. Women have a lot to lose if a nominee opposed to Roe makes it to the highest court in the land. That’s why members of the Senate Judiciary Committee should closely question this nominee in the weeks and months ahead. The American people deserve to know where he stands.”
Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-CO:
“While I have not had a chance to review Judge Neil Gorsuch’s record, I know Neil to be an honest and intelligent Coloradan. However, I will remain vigilant against any Supreme Court decision that turns back the clock on issues of liberty, equality and opportunity for all Americans.”
University of Colorado administrators, where Gorsuch has taught since 2008:
“We congratulate Judge Gorsuch on his nomination,” said Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano. “His time spent teaching, advising and mentoring our students has been invaluable to our campus. He has embodied our goals at CU Boulder for ensuring student success and developing tomorrow’s leaders.”
“As a distinguished jurist, Judge Gorsuch has given his time, energy and talents to Colorado Law over the last eight years, and our students and alumni are fortunate that he has taught in our classrooms,” said Dean S. James Anaya. “He is an extremely accomplished example of our visiting faculty, who bring diverse perspectives to our school and model rigorous legal thinking for our students.”
Colorado Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman:
“Judge Neil Gorsuch is an extremely qualified and well-respected U.S. Supreme Court nominee. He not only has a brilliant legal mind, but has both the experience and the temperament needed to serve on our nation’s highest court. Judge Gorsuch’s deep understanding and reverence of the law will serve him and the American people well.”
Colorado Republican Party:
“Tonight, President Trump fulfilled one of his biggest campaign promises to the American people by selecting federal appeals court Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, a mainstream conservative to serve on the United States Supreme Court,” said Colorado Republican Party State Chairman Steve House. “I am confident Neil Gorsuch will faithfully uphold the Constitution, protect our individual rights, and preserve the idea of limited government.”
ProgressNow Colorado:
“Neil Gorsuch is just the latest in a series of horrible choices by Donald Trump,” said ProgressNow Colorado executive director Ian Silverii. “Gorsuch’s fringe views on health care and contraception make him an enemy of Colorado women. On the Supreme Court, Gorsuch would be a vote to roll back women’s rights, environmental protections, and hard-won protections against discrimination in the workplace. Gorsuch has even been endorsed by the founder of the National Organization for Marriage, an anti-LGBT extremist group. Gorsuch may hail from Colorado, but his record stands in opposition to Colorado values.”
“The simple fact is that this Supreme Court appointment was stolen from President Obama last year in a shameful act of Republican treachery,” said Silverii. “No Democrat should in any way cooperate with or otherwise enable Gorsuch’s Supreme Court nomination, including Colorado Democrats. To do so would only hand Trump another undeserved victory.”
NARAL Pro-Choice America:
“With Judge Neil Gorsuch, the stakes couldn’t be higher when it comes to women and our lives. Gorsuch represents an existential threat to legal abortion in the United States and must never wear the robes of a Supreme Court justice.
“With a clear track record of supporting an agenda that undermines abortion access and endangers women, there is no doubt that Gorsuch is a direct threat to Roe v. Wade and the promise it holds for women’s equality. The fact that the court has repeatedly reaffirmed Roe over the past four decades would no longer matter, just as facts often don’t seem to matter to President Trump. Confirming Gorsuch to a lifetime on the Supreme Court would make good on Trump’s repeated promises to use his appointments to overturn Roe v. Wade and punish women.
“NARAL and our 1.2 million member-activists call on the Senate to reject Trump’s nominee using any and all available means, including the filibuster.”
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Colorado extends deadline to sign up for health insurance on state exchange to Friday
DENVER – Colorado’s health insurance exchange extended its enrollment deadline by three days Tuesday evening in response to a late surge in people trying to sign up for coverage.
Connect For Health Colorado, which operates the state exchange under the federal Affordable Care Act, extended the deadline for people to sign up to 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3. The deadline had been set for Tuesday evening.
Colorado’s exchange said enrollment on Monday was running 12 percent ahead of 2016 enrollment figures. A spokesman for the exchange said 200,000 people obtained coverage on the exchange last year.
Connect For Health Colorado plans will go into effect March 1, so anyone in the process of enrolling over the phone, in-person at an enrollment center, or online at Friday’s deadline will be able to complete their enrollment.
The spike in enrollment comes as Republicans in Washington say they are working to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and as Republicans in Colorado’s Legislature work to dismantle the state exchange as well.
Tuesday is the deadline for people in states that do not have their own exchanges to sign up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
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Denver college student from Libya sues Trump administration over executive order
DENVER – A Muslim Colorado college student on Tuesday joined a growing list of people in various states who are suing the Trump administration over an executive order that temporarily restricts refugees and other immigrants from the U.S.
Zakaria Hagig, 24, who is originally from Libya but is legally studying business full time at Community College of Denver, had the suit filed on his behalf in U.S. District Court of Colorado Tuesday morning. Continue reading
Hundreds of potential Colorado refugees, immigrants affected by Pres. Trump’s executive order
DENVER – Hundreds of people projected to come to Colorado this year will be affected by President Trump’s executive order barring refugees and people with visas from certain predominantly-Muslim countries.
The Colorado Department of Human Services projected in a report released in the past few months that a total of 2,195 refugees will arrive to Colorado in Fiscal Year 2017, which runs from October 2016 through September 2017. Continue reading
Veterans Affairs: Aurora VA hospital will be exempt from federal hiring freeze
DENVER – The new Veterans Affairs hospital in Aurora will be exempt from the federal hiring freeze ordered by the new administration, allaying fears that the controversial hospital would not be staffed once it finally opens.
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Friday it would exempt “certain positions,” most of which are related to direct patient care, from the hiring freeze ordered by the Trump administration “because they are necessary to meet [VA] public safety responsibilities.” Continue reading
Denver Public Schools, educators denounce Trump’s immigration orders
DENVER – The backlash against President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration and refugees continued Thursday, as Denver Public Schools and other Colorado education and teachers associations publicly opposed the actions.
DPS, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, Padres & Jovenes Unidos and the Colorado Education Association issued a joint public statement Thursday morning saying they would protect immigrants and refugees in the Denver school system.
“We stand together – as a school district, educators, students and families – to oppose the actions President Trump has taken through his executive orders today. Immigrant and refugee students, families, educators, and staff are precious members of our Denver school communities and we greatly value them for the contributions they make to our schools and communities,” the joint statement said.
“We will do everything in our individual and collective power to protect them from deportation, criminalization, intimidation and harassment.”
The letter was signed by Padres & Jovenes Unidos co-executive directors Elsa Oliva Rocha, Pam Martinez and Ricardo Martinez; Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg; Denver Classroom Teachers Association Henry Roman and Colorado Education Association President Kerrie Dallman, who is also a teacher at Jefferson County High School.
Denver Public Schools is the state’s largest school district, and the Colorado Education Association is an organization comprised of tens of thousands of public educators in the state.
Likewise, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association has almost 3,000 members comprised of public educators, and Padres & Jovenes Unidos is an organization that fights for education equity and immigrant rights, among other social issues.
They join several Denver city council members and Democratic lawmakers and members of Congress to publicly denounce Trump’s actions, which would strip federal funding from any so-called “sanctuary city” that does not aid federal agents in identifying and deporting suspected undocumented immigrants, and would limit visas from certain predominantly-Muslim countries.
Several Colorado officials publicly called the orders unconstitutional Wednesday and called for their judicial review.
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Denver Post Editorial Board editor discusses ‘Lying Trump’ editorial
DENVER – “Lying Donald Trump can’t be trusted, and that needs to stop now.”
That headline screamed from the editorial page of the Denver Post Thursday morning, as The Post’s Editorial Board took a firm stance early in Donald Trump’s presidency that it would not tolerate the lies and “alternative facts” he and his spokesman have propagated in their first week in the White House. Continue reading
Colorado officials say they’ll stand up to Trump’s immigration orders, but some Coloradans fearful
DENVER – President Donald Trump issued an executive order Wednesday that would strip all federal funding from cities and counties, including several in Colorado, that do not help federal agents target and deport people specifically for living in the U.S. illegally.
Another order signed Wednesday will affect visas and immigration from a handful of predominantly-Muslim nations in Africa and the Middle East that have large immigrant populations in the Denver area, and is causing further concern and questions among those groups. Continue reading
Document detailing possible Trump infrastructure priorities includes Colo. I-70, I-25 improvements
DENVER – Two major Colorado infrastructure projects and an energy proposal with Colorado ties are among a list of nationwide infrastructure projects prioritized for federal funding under the Donald Trump administration, according to documents obtained by McClatchy DC and the Kansas City Star.
The documents show that among the projects proposed to be earmarked for federal funding are the I-70 Mountain Corridor, and improving and widening I-25 between Monument and Castle Rock. Continue reading