-
play_arrow
07_22_25_am_headlines Ainsley Coogan
Jason Crow denied entry to ICE facility
Colorado Representative Jason Crow said that he was denied entry to the GEO ICE Detention Center in Aurora on Sunday. This follows the Department of Homeland Security instructing members of Congress to request visits to ICE facilities a week ahead of time, however, it is not required by federal law to do so.
Federal law also guarantees Congress the right to enter ICE detention centers for the purpose of conducting oversight. Crow’s office called this obstruction of entry unlawful.
Public Law 118-47, which was signed into effect in 2024, states that “nothing in this section may be construed to require a member of Congress to provide prior notice of the intent to enter a facility.”
ICE did not respond to Colorado Newsline’s request for comment on the incident.
Crow said in a statement that he “will not be deterred from conducting lawful oversight,” and that he “will continue working to hold the Trump administration accountable for its actions.” Crow has conducted regular oversight over the Aurora detention facility since he was sworn in to Congress in 2019.
Commerce City drone police program launch
Commerce City launched a four-drone program for police operators to use as extra eyes. The goal of the program is to provide a heads up for first responders for what they might encounter. The City Council approved the $150,000 contract with Paladin Drones last year.
Commerce City Police Department received a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration allowing them to fly its drones beyond the visual line of sight. They use the drone’s camera and the city’s digital mapping system to navigate the airspace.
Civil liberties and privacy advocates have expressed that there is a need for caution. Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union, said that putting police robotic devices above homes and communities is inherently insensitive.
Stanley said that there must be a transparent approach to the program.
Last month, Castle Rock signed a $200,000 drone contract with Flock Safety System. Flock has already faced scrutiny in Colorado under concerns of federal agents using them for surveillance purposes to assist in immigration enforcement.
Commerce City police Cmdr. Jeremy Jenkins said that there is no plan to use drones as surveillance tools.
Other cities, such as Aurora, have expressed interest in similar drone programs. A spokesperson from Aurora told The Denver Post that there are ongoing tests with multiple vendors.
Diagonal Highway speed cameras
The Colorado Department of Transportation has launched a new speed enforcement program along the Diagonal Highway between Boulder and Longmont, with the goal of reducing injuries and fatalities among motorists and road workers.
The program launched yesterday, and for the first month, will result in warnings for people who exceed the speed limit by more than 10 miles per hour in construction zones. After that there will be civil penalties of $75. The program uses camera technology to identify speeding drivers.
Officials say that because of narrow and shifting lanes, lane closures and sudden stops, work zones are high-risk areas. Work zone crashes resulted in 31 fatalities last year state-wide, as well as 567 injuries. That’s nearly twice as many as the year before, according to a C-DOT press release.
The City of Boulder is following the State of Colorado’s lead and is also increasing its efforts to reduce speeding-related crashes using the same Automated Vehicle Identification System, or AVIS, for automated speed enforcement.
In Boulder, that will include parts of Broadway, Canyon Boulevard, Arapahoe Avenue, Foothills Parkway, 28th Street and Baseline Road, according to a city press release.
The AVIS system will be activated on a rolling basis starting later this year. All AVIS corridors are marked with signage to notify travelers of device locations. A map of locations is available according to the city of Boulder press release.
Western Colorado wildfires
Firefighters continue making progress against the five wildfires burning in western Colorado.
Crews fighting the Turner Gulch and Wright Draw fires in Mesa County have started small, supervised fires to get rid of unburned material that would otherwise fuel the wildfires. At last word, the Turner Gulch fire was 34% contained, and Wright Draw was 51% contained.
The 4,200 acre wildfire burning in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is at 31% containment.
The Deer Creek fire, meanwhile, is 30% contained. That fire began in Utah and crossed into Colorado last week. It has burned more than 17,000 acres.
The most progress has been made on the Sowbelly fire in Delta and Mesa Counties. Fire officials say it is now 70% contained. It has burned some 2,200 acres in the Dominguez Escalante National Conservation Area.
This is all according to the Colorado Sun.
Boulder County housing support program for people with disabilities
Boulder County is funding a new housing support program for people with disabilities.
The county has awarded more than $477,000 to Imagine, a local nonprofit that supports people with disabilities.
The grant will allow Imagine to hire two full-time staff members, according to a press release. One of them will work with Boulder Housing Partners, while the other will focus on the Longmont Housing Authority and a nonprofit for unhoused people.
The program will also help people live more independently as they move into their homes and build life skills.
