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MorningMagazine_2025-04-22 Gabrielle Mendoza
Federal Judge In Denver Weighs Alien Enemies Act
A ruling could come today on whether the Trump administration can use the Alien Enemies Act to send Venezuelan men currently being held in Aurora, Colorado, at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center there, to a prison in El Salvador.
Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union argued at a hearing in Denver yesterday that unless a temporary restraining order on the Act is allowed to continue, the Venezuelan men at Aurora’s ICE detention center could be flown to El Salvador and imprisoned there without due process of law.
Monday’s hearing came after an emergency ruling by the U.S. Supreme court on Saturday. That ruling temporarily bars the Trump administration from deporting the men.
The Administration has said those men, and many others like them being held across the country, are known gang members. The Colorado Sun says that in some cases, the only proof of gang membership the government has offered were the men’s tattoos.
The pause in deportations applies to two men being held in Aurora. But the ACLU is asking the federal judge for a temporary stay of deportation for the entire group of Venezuelan individuals being held in Aurora. Government attorneys said that the Denver court doesn’t have the jurisdiction to create class-action status.
The Denver Post said that the judge appeared inclined to rule against the Trump administration.
Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network joined the ACLU’s lawsuit, accusing the Trump administration of, “scooping people up and sending them to El Salvador” without giving them due process. The Denver Post says at least eleven people held at the Aurora detention center have already been sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison.
Budget Shortfalls Threaten Teacher Pay
A financial deficit may lead to lower teacher salaries in Colorado.
The Denver Post says that state lawmakers are faced with a 1.2 billion dollar budget shortage, and that they may try making up for it with cuts to education.
Several factors play into the shortfall, including declining K-12 enrollment, and the end of COVID-19 relief money.
Just last week, Boulder Valley School District reopened contract negotiations with its union to discuss what superintendent Rob Anderson called the “sustainability” of the district’s salaries. Anderson told The Post that their resources might be very different from years past.
If there are smaller salary increases at BVSD, it would be in line with smaller raises in teacher salaries in other metro Denver school districts. Denver Public Schools has proposed a $400 raise, while Jefferson County schools offered teachers no cost-of-living raise for the academic year starting this coming September.
The president of the Colorado Education Association said that low salaries are making it difficult for educators to stay in the profession.
Trump May Reverse Conservation Rule
The Trump Administration may roll back a rule that protects some 81 million acres of Bureau of Land Management land, including more than eight million acres in Colorado.
The White House Office of Management and Budget made their intentions to roll back conservation efforts public last week. While no formal plan has been proposed yet, the Office published a notice online about its intent to roll back a Biden-era ruling that prioritized conservation on 81 million acres of BLM land – including 8.3 in Colorado, according to The Colorado Sun.
The 2024 rule, called the “Public Lands Rule,” puts environmental protection on par with mining, grazing, and oil and gas development.
The possibility is causing concern among conservation groups. Because the ruling took years to develop, conservationists told The Sun that rescinding it entirely would be an insult to the democratic process.
The Trump administration has already rolled back protections on some 260,000 acres of land in Nevada and New Mexico, to allow for oil, gas, geothermal, and mineral extraction.
Kathleen Sgamma, Trump’s appointee for BLM director who has since withdrawn her nomination, told The Sun the rule will likely be rescinded.
Colorado Honors Late Pope
Flags in Colorado are flying at half-staff to honor the late Pope Francis.
The pontiff died from a stroke and heart failure Monday, at the age of 88.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis called Pope Francis a pillar of compassion, who spoke of protecting the environment, and in support of the basic humanity of LGBTQ+ people, according to a press release.
He said it is his hope that the late Pope’s legacy will continue to help the Catholic church lead the world in a healing and loving manner.
Flags will continue to fly at half-staff until sunset on the day of the pope’s interment.
