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MorningMagazine_2025-04-29-1 Gabrielle Mendoza
Military members involved in raid could face investigation
Federal officials led a raid of a Colorado Springs underground nightclub early yesterday morning and detained over 100 immigrants. The Rocky Mountain division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security, the FBI, the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD), and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPCSO) were all on the scene.
According to Denver7, some active duty military members were among those detained at the nightclub – either working as security or attending an event.
The Army has confirmed that service members from its Fort Carson base were present. Those members could face months-long investigations, and may be subject to charges in both criminal and military court.
The Denver Post says the raid at 296 South Academy Blvd. in Colorado Springs had reportedly been in development for months.
The raid was one of the biggest in number of arrests since Donald Trump took office earlier this year. The last time the DEA’s Rocky Mountain Division announced a large bust was at a makeshift nightclub in Adams County back in January, where 41 people were detained by ICE at what officials dubbed a “Tren de Aragua party.” According to The Post, no charges were ever filed and the agency never released how many individuals were put into deportation proceedings.
Polis signs budgeting plan for fiscal year
Governor Jared Polis has signed Colorado’s multi-billion dollar spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year into law. KGNU’s Andraa Von has the details.
At yesterday’s signing, Polis officially ok-ed the $44 billion budget that will run from July 1 of this year to June 30th of next year. According to The Denver Post, the governor focused on what the final budget protected – and not the $1.2 billion in cuts made.
The new spending bill reserves more money for the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, which oversees the state’s Medicaid program, as well as more money for higher education and the Colorado departments of transportation and public safety.
However, officials cut over a billion dollars to meet constitutional requirements for a balanced budget. Those cuts came from individual programs, including those that encourage marijuana growing efficiency and that promote alternative transportation infrastructure.
The six lawmakers on the Joint Budget Committee stood behind Polis as he told attendees that “the budget struggle is somewhat of a return to normalcy after recent boom years.”
Lawmakers warn that state spending is still expected to crash into the TABOR cap next year, and that these short-term spending cuts give them more time to prepare for potential deeper cuts into state spending next year.
While the overall state budget sits at $44 billion, the general fund, which covers day-to-day operations, amounts to about $16.7 billion.
That’s all according to The Denver Post.
Trump administration cutting multi-million dollar grants for migrant sheltering in Denver
The Trump Administration is terminating three of Denver’s multi-million-dollar grants intended to support the city’s migrant sheltering services.
That’s according to Denver’s budget director Justin Sykes, who shared the news with council members yesterday. He said the city has received only $7 or $8 million from the grants so far – meaning the remaining $24 million will not make it to Denver.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent a letter to Denver on April 1, informing the city that it would not continue to send money allocated for grants that do not support Trump’s intense enforcement of immigration laws and efforts to “secure the border.” The letter continued to allege that many of the individuals receiving shelter, food, transportation, medical care, and personal hygiene supplies “often have no legal status” in the U.S.
Denver spokesperson Jon Ewing (EYOU-wing) said that there won’t be a large immediate impact from the terminated grants. Denver typically spends between $100 and $200 million in grants each year – which are mostly federally funded.
EPA must revisit Colorado’s plan to ignore fracking pollution
The Environmental Protection Agency must reconsider Colorado’s plan for improving its air quality.
Yesterday, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver told the EPA that the state did not take into account the pollution emitted by drilling and fracking when it considers permits.
This doesn’t mean the EPA has to force Colorado to include stricter permits for oil and gas in its plans. The courts are just asking the EPA to think about it, and explain why the exemption was allowed.
The state is currently in severe violation of two federal ozone pollution standards, and therefore must find a way to reduce that pollution or else face more penalties. Officials are currently preparing to revise the State Implementation Plan that will outline a path to reduce pollution. That plan is mandated under the Clean Air Act.
