The White River Electric Association, a non-profit cooperative, lost several miles of power lines in two fires that burned public and private land just outside of Meeker in August 2025. Power lines are uninsurable, for obvious reasons, and White River has had to take out a $23.6 million loan to rebuild transmission lines and get power to critical gas development projects in the Piceance Basin.

“The loan itself is not a long-term loan. It was issued with the hope that FEMA would help us,” said Alan J. Michalewicz, general manager and CEO of White River Electric Association. “Now, with FEMA being declined, we are exploring the options that are available to us and what it would take to turn this into a long-term loan. It could have up to a 5% rate impact on membership, across the board to all our members.”

Michalewicz said he is grateful for the bipartisan support in Colorado following the fires and lauded the state’s work in the aftermath of the fires. White River rebuilt transmission lines quickly, and full power will be restored next week to oil and gas operators in the area.

We worry that even a 3% rate increase will hurt families, small businesses and oil and gas operations in a time when everyone, including utilities, is facing the pressure of increased fuel prices.

Trump’s denial is the first time in 35 years that the federal government refused to use Federal Emergency Management Act funds to assist a community in Colorado recovering from a natural disaster, but under Trump’s leadership, such denials are now the norm – that is, if you live in a “blue” state.

According to , Trump’s administration has denied 77% of disaster funding requests when the request comes from a state with a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators. When the request comes from a state with a Republican governor and two Republican Senators, Trump’s administration only denied 11% of requests.

Such partisan wielding of federal dollars intended to provide communities and individuals with assistance to rebuild in the wake of natural disasters is unprecedented. Politico went through 45 years of FEMA records and found that no other president, going back as far as Reagan, has denied a majority of requests from any states, let alone singled out states for political retribution using FEMA dollars. While the rate of approval for Republican-state requests has remained mostly unchanged compared to previous administrations, Democratic-state approvals have plummeted.

We are outraged, but far more than anything, we are sad for our neighbors in Rio Blanco, La Plata, Archuletta and Mineral counties.

Sadly, the counties that Trump is denying funds to had a majority of voters support him for president in 2024. In Rio Grande County, 60% of voters cast their ballots for Trump. Now he has denied their request for disaster relief, which will directly result in increased utility costs for the foreseeable future. Did they vote for this? Surely they did not expect Trump to wield federal funds as a cudgel to punish them for the politics of their neighbors.

Colorado’s leaders cannot drop this issue until Trump reverses this bad decision.

Every single member of Colorado’s congressional delegation — Republicans and Democrats — signed off on . Now that Trump rejected the appeal, our elected officials must increase the political pressure.

No one should be talking about this more than U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, who represents all four affected counties in Congressional District 3. Hurd is facing a primary for re-election, and he has until June to prove he can deliver for his constituents. Hurd should be spending time on the campaign trail explaining how he is fighting for these federal funds.

But he can’t do it alone. Colorado’s U.S. senators — John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet — have decrying Trump’s denial of these funds.

“The president is solely responsible for this abdication of responsibility; the consequences of which will continue to be severe and long-lasting,” the statement reads.

But that doesn’t go far enough.

We need our elected officials to be a thorn in Trump’s side, requesting meetings, talking at every public event about the detailed repercussions of this decision and lauding Gov. Jared Polis for his ongoing support of these counties.

The emphasis from our leaders should be on the unprecedented and politically motivated nature of Trump’s decision. Trump is setting a dire precedent. Will future presidents withhold federal disaster aid unless a state’s leaders laud her achievements, bow to her every demand, and kiss the ring?

We want to live in a country that is free from the tyranny of an executive branch with unlimited power and unlimited spite. Now is the time for Colorado leaders to push back on this bad decision and fight for a future where disaster declarations are considered on their merits and qualifications, not on the angry whims of one man.

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The denials follow a third disaster relief request submitted earlier this year by Colorado’s members of Congress. The federal decision blocks access to critical FEMA public assistance for affected communities, as well as statewide hazard mitigation support.

is related to September’s Elk and Lee fires in Rio Blanco County, and is in response to recovery efforts in La Plata, Archuleta, and Mineral counties following flooding that occurred last October in western Colorado.

“This is incredibly disappointing for Coloradans. Colorado communities have done everything right — responding quickly, documenting the damage, and working in good faith with federal partners — only for the Trump administration to deny funding to help Colorado communities recover,” Polis said in the Monday news release.

“These disasters caused real damage to homes, infrastructure, and local economies, and Coloradans should not be left to shoulder these costs alone. We will continue supporting impacted communities and exploring every available path forward, but the federal government must be a reliable partner in disaster recovery.”

Without federal assistance, the announcement stated affected communities will have fewer resources to recover, will have to make challenging decisions about how to balance expensive recovery costs with limited resources, will be at heightened risk of future disasters, and may not be able to perform the repairs to energy systems and river channels that would help them avoid future damage and disruption.

The Elk and Lee fires burned more than 137,000 acres from Aug. 2–29, 2025, and caused over $27 million in damages.

Flooding and mudslides further compounded damage to roads, bridges and public systems, according to the news release.

In Southwest Colorado, historic flooding from Oct. 10-14, 2025, caused more than $13 million in damages to infrastructure, including the destruction of over 60 miles of road, major impacts to water and wastewater systems and long-term risks to communities along the San Juan River basin.

The announcement stated Polis formally requested disaster declarations for both events in September and November 2025. The federal government denied both requests in December 2025, and the state submitted formal appeals in January.

“It is frustrating that for the first time in 35 years, the State of Colorado has been denied federal assistance as part of a major disaster declaration request,” said Kevin Klein, Director of the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

“Our damage assessments documented and showed that each of the disasters exceeded the federal thresholds for assistance. Our State Recovery Task Force will continue to work on alternatives to fill the gap, but providing substantial relief to the disaster survivors becomes much more difficult with this decision. I don’t want it to sound like we can just fill all the gaps — we can’t, but of course we will do our best to support them.”

which has operated at 2001 S. Platte River Drive for 44 years, has asked the city to reverse approval of a sewer and drainage permit, the last step needed before starting construction. The printing company, its attorneys and water experts contend city regulations clearly prohibit uses like gas stations in a floodplain.

And Publication Printers says the parcel, which is under an acre, is too small for the kind of stormwater drainage system that QuikTrip plans to install.

“Our biggest concern is pollution to the river,” said Solomon Rael, manager of  environmental health and safety and facilities for the printing company.

“We don’t know of anywhere in the city of Denver or the state of Colorado where a gas station has been approved that close to the Platte River or river or any body of water,” Rael said.

QuikTrip has started grading the land at the intersection of West Evans Avenue and South Platte River Drive. But Publication Printers will appear before an administrative hearing officer in April to try to overturn the city permit and halt the work.

QuikTrip has opened 26 locations in Colorado since 2022. The Tulsa, Okla., company has more than 1,000 stores in 17 states and a loyal following of fans who like the gas prices and rave about the food. Company spokeswoman Aisha Jefferson said QuikTrip employs about 500 people across Colorado.

Because of the ongoing review of QuikTrip’s permit, Jefferson said she couldn’t respond to Publication Printer’s specific claims about the store planned in southwest Denver.

“QuikTrip has worked closely with the city throughout this project and has completed all required reviews and permitting steps. We trust the city’s established processes and the standards our projects are designed to meet,” Jefferson said in an email.

QuikTrip is “committed to being a responsible and supportive neighbor in the Denver community,” Jefferson added.

Publication Printers believes QuikTrip picked the wrong spot this time.

“The basic issue is that the Denver Municipal Code expressly disallows this type of use on a floodplain parcel,” said Carrie Schaffer, an attorney with Snell &Wilmer, the law firm representing Publication Printers.

Schaffer said the location is about 73 feet from the South Platte River. on a Federal Emergency Management Agency flood insurance rate map. The designation means there’s a 1% chance the area will experience a flood any given year, making it a high risk.

The sewer use and drainage permit issued to QuikTrip is prohibited under a city code that bars the storage or processing of materials that are “flammable, explosive or otherwise potentially injurious to human, animal or plant life in time of flooding,” Snell & Wilmer attorneys said in a Feb. 7 petition to the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.

The department declined to comment on the petition’s claims.

“The language of this regulation is unambiguous. The regulation does not authorize conditional approval or mitigation-based exceptions,” attorney William Ojile Jr. said in the petition.

He also criticized QuikTrip’s stormwater drainage plan, which he said doesn’t comply with the design and technical criteria in the city’s manual. He said the 0.89-acre parcel is too small for the detention pond planned for the site.

“Because the approval conflicts with mandatory floodplain protections, violates binding technical criteria, and rests on a design that cannot functionally satisfy Denver’s stormwater requirements, the (permit) lacks any valid legal or technical foundation,” Ojile said in the petition.

The city approved QuikTrip’s site development plan in April 2025 and approved the sewer use and drainage permit Jan. 9. The development plan, filed with the Denver Planning Commission in 2022, was flagged because it was in a floodplain.

Schaffer said Publication Printers unsuccessfully appealed the rezoning of QuikTrip’s land. She said only the chairman of the Board of Adjustment, who raised the floodplain issue, voted against the rezoning.

If the city upholds QuikTrip’s permit, Schaffer said Publication Printers could choose to pursue the matter in state district court.

Rael said he has seen two major floods at work during his 18.5 years with Publication Printers. He worries about the fallout if floodwaters were to carry gasoline into the South Platte River.

The South Platte extends 12.5 miles through Denver. which serves the city and many surrounding suburbs, gets roughly 50% of its water from the South Platte River basin.

The 48-year-old Publication Printers has been involved with , a Denver-based nonprofit, which has worked to revitalize and protect the South Platte River and its tributaries. The printing company, which has 400 employees and customers nationwide, has worked on conservation projects in the area, Rael said.

The company doesn’t store any flammable materials or other items prohibited in floodplains, Rael said. “We worry about the people way downstream, even outside of Denver.”

Re: “RTD: Panel suggests smaller board,” Jan. 30 news story

With or without changes in the RTD Board’s make-up, at some point the Board must tackle the elephant in the room: the loss of ridership due to a lack of consistent connectivity for passengers between train-to-bus, and bus-to-bus routes, so transfer “wait” times become less than two minutes.

One glaring problem is found in Olde Town Arvada, where connecting from the light rail to departing bus service in a timely manner is impossible. The bus depot is two stories beneath the train platform and several blocks from the closest stairway.

Whatever form the RTD board takes in the future, I strongly urge its members to spend a week in Montreal or Toronto.  For several days they should depend solely on mass transit to find their way to various places around the metro areas. Board members will experience an efficient mass transit system (much larger than Denver’s) that will take them from point A to point B, C, all the way to Z, with minimal “wait” times at transfer stops.

There must be a way to have a smooth-running mass transit system here, at least from morning rush hour into the evening. That is how you increase dependability, ridership, and loyalty, no matter how many people serve on the RTD board. And building a train stop for Coors Field shouldn’t be that difficult either. The track is already there.

Pete Simon, Arvada

Former state senator should face real consequences for her felonies

Re: “Jury finds ex-Longmont state senator guilty of four felonies,” Jan. 29 news story

A recent story about the trial of former state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis indicated the prosecutor would recommend probation for her felony convictions. If that is true, that would be a terrible thing to do. She was convicted of misusing her power and violating the trust given to her as a public official. Elected officials should be held to higher standards than most people.

In these times where public trust in institutions is breaking down, this is exactly the wrong message. She should serve the maximum possible sentence in jail — in a state medium-security jail, not a plush adult day care center.

If she receives only probation, that will further inflame mistrust of government and lead only to more cynicism. I can’t help looking at it as her being handed a “get out of jail free” card because she is a loyal member of the Democratic organization.

Ed Schlotzhauer, Loveland

Musicians’ messaging provides hope

Re: “Iran: Supreme leader warns any U.S. attack would spark ‘regional war’,” and “Bad Bunny wins album of the year; Eilish wins song of year Grammy Awards,” Feb. 2 news stories

Our old President Trump and Iran’s old Supreme Leader exchanged threats. And then Billie Eilish said, “No one is illegal on stolen land.” And then Bad Bunny said, “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”

Music and musicians give me hope.

David L Stevenson, Denver

Enough of the pleasant weather already

I’ve endured over 80 years of snow and blistery winters – including a Thanksgiving storm back in the 1980s that left 40 inches of snow at the house here — but never one like this.

I’m not complaining, mind you — it����ap gratifying to make our frequent doctor and follow-up appointments on dry streets. But it����ap weird. I have to experience winter vicariously by reading about all the heroic folks back east persevering while a battalion of snow-removal vehicles sit idle here.

Our ski areas are beginning to call this a “lost” year as their snow totals are half the usual amount. We may experience water rationing come summer if they don’t return our winters to us soon.

Harry Puncec, Lakewood

Trump’s retribution against Colorado hurts many of his voters

Trump and his administration’s retribution efforts against Colorado are going to hurt many of the 43% of voters in Colorado that cast their 2024 ballots for him.

FEMA assistance from fires and flooding in and near Pagosa? Denied, a red area. Moving Space Command away from Colorado Springs? A red area. Vetoing a bipartisan bill that would provide fresh drinking water to the lower Arkansas Valley? A red area. Trying to shut down NCAR? True enough, it is in Boulder County, but hundreds of jobs will be lost if that decision (which legally is solely Congress’ decision) stands and that will have ramifications beyond NCAR that will impact all voters.  I truly wish all politicians would realize that they were chosen to represent their entire electorate, not just their voters, and act accordingly.  Democracy works best when it works for the good for as many as possible.

John W Thomas, Fort Collins

Expand access to physical therapy for older Americans

If you have older loved ones in your life, it����ap likely that one of them has experienced a fall. As the leading cause of injury and injury-related death in individuals over 65, falls can be devasting physically, emotionally, and financially for patients. Yet many falls could be avoided with the right preventative care: physical therapy.

As we age, physical therapy can be an important tool to keeping us strong, healthy, and mobile. As fall experts, physical therapists have specialized knowledge in assessing patients and tailoring treatment plans to prevent falls. That����ap why it����ap crucial that older Coloradans have access to this life-saving care.

One way to improve access is through the bipartisan Stopping Addiction and Falls for the Elderly (SAFE) Act (H.R. 1171), which would enable Medicare beneficiaries to receive a no-cost falls risk assessment by a physical or occupational therapist as part of their annual wellness visit.

I’m thankful to Representative Gabe Evans for recently sending staff to North Boulder Physical Therapy to discuss the value of physical therapy care and the importance of passing the SAFE Act to help prevent falls and reduce healthcare spending. I now encourage Rep. Evans to cosponsor this commonsense legislative solution.

By preventing falls, we can help more older Americans thrive and live their lives to the fullest.

Dane Kelley, Westminster

DIA makes simple move to help large percentage of travelers

Recently traveling through DIA Denver International Airport I had reason to use the women’s toilets on the C concourse. I was surprised and delighted to discover that inside the stalls there was a dispenser of sanitary pads.

This is something I had never seen before and worked like a roll of toilet paper.

Since 50% of the population has need of this product at various times in their life it made so much sense to make it available to travelers in the space where it is useful.

My kudos to the management of the airport for thinking of the most efficient delivery system of period products to their customers. While I’m quite sure it also streamlines costs and improves the maintenance of the facility, the peace of mind of the female travelers are reaping the greatest benefits of all. Thank you DIA. My tax dollars at work in a way that makes me proud to be from Denver.

Carol Edwards, Littleton

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“Coloradans are trying to rebuild their lives after fires and floods destroyed homes and communities across our state,” Sen. John Hickenlooper said in a . “Trump’s decision to reject our disaster requests, and therefore withhold resources as our communities continue to recover, is unacceptable. This isn’t a game. These are people’s lives.”

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis previously filed major disaster declaration requests in August for the near Meeker and in October for .

The Trump administration denied those requests late Saturday night, according to a news release from Polis’ office.

The losses from both the fires and the floods exceeded FEMA’s threshold to approve a , Polis said.

Colorado has invested more than $57.5 million into the fires, floods and other disasters since July 2024, according to the release from Polis’ office. The state doesn’t have the capacity to continue supporting local communities’ recovery efforts without federal assistance, the governor’s office said.

The Elk and Lee wildfires sparked in August on opposite sides of Meeker in Rio Blanco County. Together, the fires charred more than 150,000 acres and destroyed at least five homes and 14 outbuildings, causing an estimated $27.5 million in damage. That number is expected to grow over time, according to Polis’ office.

By the time it was fully contained, the Lee fire had grown to the fifth-largest wildfire in Colorado history.

“Coloradans impacted by the Elk and Lee fires and the flooding in southwestern Colorado deserve better than the political games President Trump is playing,” Polis said in a statement. “One of the most amazing things to witness as Governor has been the resilience of Coloradans following a natural disaster. Their courage, strength, and willingness to help one another is unmatched — values that President Trump seems to have forgotten.”

Tropical storms in October fueled heavy floods in southwestern Colorado, including La Plata, Archuleta and Mineral counties. The floodwaters and damaged public infrastructure, Polis said in his .

The floodwaters caused more than $13 million in damage, an estimate that’s expected to rise as assessments and repairs continue, Polis said.

“This is about the Coloradans who need this support, and we won’t stop fighting for them to get what they deserve,” Polis stated. “Colorado will be appealing this decision.”

The Trump administration responds to each request for federal assistance with “great care and consideration, ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement — not substitute — their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in an emailed statement to The Denver Post.

Jackson said there were no political motives behind Trump’s denials of disaster relief.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, a Republican who represents western and southwestern Colorado, urged the Trump administration “to work with us on an appeal” in a statement Monday.

“Western Colorado has long supported the president, and that support comes from communities now facing the real human and economic consequences of recent disasters,” Hurd said. “Local leaders and residents are seeking a consistent application of FEMA criteria so recovery efforts can move forward.”

Elected officials in Colorado accused Trump last week of retaliating against the state after his administration announced plans to shut down and dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder.

U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, a Democrat who represents the district south of Boulder, said the decision was “an assault on Colorado and political retribution.”

The decision to close the lab — and the following denial of Polis’ disaster declarations — were delivered amid Trump’s ongoing attempts to free Tina Peters from Colorado prison.

Trump has increasingly criticized Polis, including calling the governor after the Colorado Department of Corrections announced that it would not comply with a request to transfer Peters to federal prison.

Peters, a former Mesa County clerk, is serving a nine-year prison sentence for election interference. She was convicted on state charges and cannot be pardoned by the president, legal experts say.

Sen. Michael Bennet called President Trump’s decision to deny Colorado’s request for federal assistance “unacceptable.”

“Trump continues to use Coloradans for political games; it is malicious and obscene,” Bennet said. “A disaster is a disaster, regardless of what state in the country it took place. Together with Governor Polis and the Colorado delegation, I will take every available step to appeal this decision.”

Natural disasters in TV and film are sadly familiar. But what does it look like after the news cameras move on? Wildfires in Colorado and elsewhere may darken our skies, but a figurative cloaking can also occur within survivors’ minds, as we see in “Rebuilding,” which embraces the subject with uncommon heart.

Written by and directed by Telluride-area native Max Walker-Silverman, “Rebuilding” is an elegant and spiritual look at the choices faced by survivors, who are already juggling as many economic and personal crises as anyone else. Walker-Silverman and cinematographer Alfonso Herrera Salcedo step back just enough to see our characters as others might: battered and uncertain, resolute and earnest. But in sympathetic fits, they also jump into their characters’ heads to regard the world as the characters do.

Opening scenes sample the culture and scenery of shooting locations, including . Anyone who’s been to the National Western Stock Show, visited or worked on a ranch, or otherwise escaped the Front Range for Southern Colorado will recognize the stark beauty of the San Luis Valley.

Melancholy trails main character Dusty (Josh O’Connor) as he struggles to right himself after his ranch turns to ash, from setting up a new “home” in his cookie-cutter FEMA trailer to explaining the complicated reality to his daughter, who’s smart beyond her years but also just wants to her dad to stick around instead of potentially moving to Montana for work.

We hear from a radio report that at least 1,000 homes were destroyed in this particular fire, with many more thousands of people displaced. Generational rancher Dusty is just one of them, along with daughter Callie Rose (Lily LaTorre), who stays with him while not with her mother, Ruby (a vigorous Meghann Fahy). It also turns out that Dusty’s new abode shares a scrubby expanse with a half-dozen other displaced families.

Ruby is catalyst for Dusty, pushing him to connect with Callie Rose amid the loss and uncertainty. A low-key but effective Amy Madigan pops in as Bess, Ruby’s mom and ostensible matriarch, who’s on the third act of her own story. She puts pills in her yogurt, as Callie Rose observes, which says more in a line than some screenwriters say in a script. Their family bonds are frayed but still very much visible.

O’Connor, who’s lately starred in films such as “Challengers” and “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” (directed by Colorado native Rian Johnson), plays Dusty as a lone animal against an even lonelier landscape. But instead of tangling with substance abuse, money schemes or other leaden tropes, Walker-Silverman focuses on Dusty as the locus of a family ranching legacy that, post-wildfire, cannot support animals or crops anymore on its scored acreage. You can feel the weight on his shoulders, but also his drive to lift it.

Dusty is at first blurry in the foreground, his bereftness almost too much to capture despite the defeated body language. Callie Rose, on the other hand, is confident and self-contained, needling Dusty with her precocious wisdom that never becomes contrived or cutesy. They both believe things could go “back to normal” at some point, though somewhere deep within they also know that’s impossible. Sparks of connection arrive as they sit in the back of Dusty’s pickup truck outside a public library at night — the only way for them and other wildfire survivors to access wi-fi service.

The sound design is visceral and satisfying, with insects trilling, horses snuffing, and boots in gravel subbing for a traditional score. It fits the scenery: Isolation and vulnerability prompt one rancher-neighbor to opine that the area is simply a desert, despite centuries-long efforts to turn it green. “That����ap all it is,” he concludes.

“Rebuilding” is rare in that it resists the pull of grim, prestige-picture drama, which would certainly be justified for the subject matter. Walker-Silverman instead steers toward the wistful and bucolic, depicting beauty and devastation at once. As Dusty begins to dip into fellowship with his other displaced trailer-mates, they share roasted green chiles and casseroles, stories and songs. They’ve all lost something, and are on a similar path of grief. That’s especially true with mom Mali (Kali Reis), who’s trying to support daughter Lucy despite losing her husband in the fire. The spare script gives her and other supporting characters relatable grit in the face of intimidating odds, which are writ large in the massive skies dotted with cloud traffic and blinding sun.

Dusty applies for a loan to rebuild his family ranch, but is met by the Catch-22 of not having a ranch to back it up. Scenes like this are naturalistic to the point of documentary, but so are the campfire nights in the FEMA block, where the mix of multiracial and multigenerational families rings true. O’Connor’s strong, silent-type cowboy feels less like a Western cliché and more like a smart acting choice. And as the rhythms of daily life can’t help but return for him and others, it’s gratifying to see Dusty’s loner shell crack and fall away.

Ultimately, it����ap not about realizing what he lost, but what he’s still got. And as he learns in a surprise and deeply gratifying ending, that����ap quite a lot.

“Rebuilding” is playing the Highlands Ranch AMC 24 and opens on Friday, Dec. 12, at more theaters in Denver, Lakewood, Centennial, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, and Alamosa; see for details. It will be available on streaming services in early 2026.

Rebuilding

Rated: PG

Running time: 95 minutes

Score: 3 stars (out of 4)

Where to watch: in theaters

Endless Sales and , along with executives Brian Firkins and Jeffrey Blasdel and former executive J.R. Antczak, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on Aug. 21, Department of Justice officials announced this week.

According to the , Octane’s main business was buying forklifts made in China, rebranding them as American-made and selling them to local, state and federal government clients.

The scheme started in August 2018 and continued until at least July 2024. Investigators say the companies and executives also worked with a Chinese manufacturer to create fake invoices that undervalued the imported forklifts to avoid paying more than $1 million in tariffs and fees.

In a statement, Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari said the companies sold the forklifts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Defense while claiming to comply with the

“It is especially reprehensible that this alleged fraud involved a FEMA contract using disaster funds,” Cuffari said.

The companies and Firkins, Blasdel and Antczak were indicted for conspiring to commit wire fraud and conspiring to enter goods into the United States by means of false or fraudulent statements, federal officials said.

Firkins, Blasdel and Antczak also face charges of wire fraud, and Blasdel is charged with making false statements to the government.

The administration’s underlying goal, according to reporting by : To deport 1 million people without proper legal status within a year.

But U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not on track to meet that target thus far. In late April, the agency and a similar number of deportations in the first 100 days of the president’s second term. The daily pace has been increasing, however — by early June, according to , the number of arrests had risen to over 100,000.

An escalation in ICE enforcement tactics and rapidly changing immigration policies, along with roadblocks put up by the courts, have defined Trump’s first five months back in office. So have public protests. This month, after ICE began broader-scale actions in Los Angeles, including raids of Home Depot parking lots, the president ordered the National Guard and the Marines to the streets of that city to help respond to demonstrations there — a directive that spurred more protests nationally.

In Colorado, immigrant-rights advocates have been surprised at the administration’s fast pace as it has moved to implement Trump’s agenda. Even if the state has largely not seen the workplace raids conducted elsewhere so far — and legal roadblocks and limited resources have slowed ICE down — it’s been aggressive here in other ways.

Several advocates say they doubt the agency will be able to remove 1 million immigrants by early next year, but ICE’s recent tactics concern them. They’re preparing for enforcement activities to intensify.

“Many people in the immigrant community have realized over the last four or five months that Trump means what he says,” Denver immigration attorney Hans Meyer said. “He is trying to enact a full-scale deportation machine.”

To take stock of Trump’s impact so far, The Denver Post interviewed elected officials, immigrant-rights advocates, legal experts, attorneys, immigrants of varying legal statuses and U.S. citizens who hold differing opinions on the president’s immigration strategy.

Denver has been in ICE’s crosshairs since large-scale raids first began in February. Trump has derided Colorado’s capital as a “sanctuary city,” targeting it along with dozens of others around the country. Last month, the Justice Department sued elected officials in Denver and Colorado over state and local laws limiting cooperation with ICE.

Federal agents have also made arrests near courthouses in downtown Denver, moved enforcement inside the federal courthouse where immigration cases are heard, and detained nationally recognized immigrant-rights activist Jeanette Vizguerra, who remains in ICE custody.

“There’s no small moves here by the Trump administration,” said Pratheepan Gulasekaram, a professor of law at the University of Colorado Boulder.

State and local officials have turned to the courts to fight several of the president’s actions. Attorney General Phil Weiser has filed or joined federal lawsuits that argue against the government’s withholding of funds for states that don’t submit to Trump’s immigration policies. Denver, too, has sued the Trump administration over decisions to hold back millions of dollars in promised grants.

As Denver trudges forward with its legal challenge and contends with ICE activity, Mayor Mike Johnston says he’s committed to keeping it a welcoming city for all.

“We will not shepherd anyone from the law if they’ve broken the law,” he said in an interview. “But we’re also not going to have people be subject to raids in hospitals or churches or schools, which just makes the whole city unsafe.”

Johnston also said: “We will continue to fight in these places where we think that federal action is illegal or unfair and is hurting Denver residents, because we think that’s beyond the scope of what the president can or should be able to do.”

Is deporting 1 million an ‘impossible’ task?

In Colorado, the number of people affected by immigration enforcement activities is still unclear due to a lack of federal transparency.

ICE has only through last December. In March, the agency said it was working toward posting monthly enforcement stats, but those have yet to come to fruition. Local ICE spokesperson Steve Kotecki did not respond when asked how many people had been detained, deported or released by the Denver field office since Jan. 20.

TRAC Reports — an independent and nonpartisan database — has noted that, from the start of the 2025 fiscal year in October through April, were filed in Colorado’s immigration court. That was well below the pace of the 2024 fiscal year, when close to 47,000 new proceedings were recorded for the entire year.

Information on local detainments has been piecemeal, with ICE about dozens of arrests. It’s also conducted several large-scale enforcement actions in recent months that drew broad media coverage.

ICE raids and their uncertainty scare off workers and baffle businesses

Those included a series of raids in a single day in early February across metro Denver at apartment complexes and homes. ICE had set out with a goal of arresting more than 100 gang members but netted just 30, according to Fox News, including one confirmed gang member. Officials complained about interference by activists on the ground.

Other Front Range communities have attracted enforcement activity, too. A multiagency raid of an underground nightclub in Colorado Springs in late April resulted in the detentions of 104 people who were illegally present in the country, ICE said. In early February, a similar raid of a club in Adams County resulted in arrests that included 41 people on immigration holds.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado has confirmed that were taken from Colorado to El Salvador's CECOT prison as of April. The Trump administration, in , has used the Alien Enemies Act against suspected gang members, but advocates have disputed the gang ties of some detainees.

Across Colorado, academics, elected officials and immigration advocates are skeptical the Trump administration will come close to deporting 1 million people in its first year.

Gulasekaram at CU Boulder considers it unlikely, particularly if ICE is focused solely on migrants who've committed crimes and pose national security threats.

On top of that, "the only way in which the Trump administration could even approach what it's talking about is, on the first instance, they would need the manpower, the human power to get there," Gulasekaram said. "Currently, they don't have that."

ICE would need congressional approval for billions of dollars to boost the number of agents in what's already the largest federal enforcement arm, the Department of Homeland Security, Gulasekaram said. Without that, he added, it would require either turning to local law enforcement for help -- a practice that is limited by Colorado law, as well as local policy in places like Denver -- or using the military domestically.

As for the latter, "that is not something that is done," Gulasekaram said. However, he says he fears Trump may be laying the groundwork for that use through his activation of military forces in Los Angeles.

Former President Barack Obama's administration set the annual record by deporting over 438,000 immigrants without legal status in the 2013 fiscal year, according to . In comparison, the most immigrants removed from the United States during Trump's first term was about 267,000, in the 2019 fiscal year, according to .

In the district of state Rep. Ryan Gonzalez, a Greeley Republican, illegal immigration has been a top concern for voters, he said, pointing to polling conducted last year.

Even so, Gonzalez describes Trump's deportation goal as an "impossible" task that would cost too much money.

"I don't really see that happening, to be honest with you," he said. "He's well under the projections of where he should be at this point in time for deportations."

Gonzalez said he had reached out to local law enforcement to discuss ICE activity. He was assured that federal agents were arresting only immigrants without legal status who have severe criminal records, he said -- a move that he supports. "We're not trying to deport, like, the abuelitas," Gonzalez said, using a Spanish word for grandmothers.

But cites detention statistics showing that, while the number of people arrested by ICE who had other criminal charges or convictions nearly doubled between January and June, arrests of people with no charges or convictions -- other than an immigration violation -- increased by 800%.

Colorado U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans and five other congressional Republicans raised concerns to ICE's acting director in a letter this month, inquiring about the agency's enforcement priorities -- and questioning whether the deportation of criminals was still the priority.

"Every minute that we spend pursuing an individual with a clean record is a minute less that we dedicate to apprehending terrorists or cartel operatives," they wrote.

Amid such questions, Raquel Lane-Arellano, the communications manager for the , also doubts that the Trump administration will hit its mark.

"I also don't think you reach those kind of numbers without breaking the rules," Lane-Arellano said.

Groups respond to pivots on enforcement

The coalition is contending with a detainment process that Lane-Arellano depicted as increasingly militarized. During raids, ICE has partnered with federal agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI -- "all these agencies that have, frankly, better work to do than target immigrants," she added.

At groups like hers, "burnout is especially high right now," Lane-Arellano said, with overextended staff scrambling to keep up with Trump's moves.

But the coalition has experienced a jump in donations from citizens and foundations.

"I'm so proud to be a Coloradan right now," Lane-Arellano said.

Jennifer Piper, the program director at the in Denver, also doesn't see ICE hitting 1 million deportees this year unless it gets help from other law enforcement or a funding boost. At the same time, in recent weeks, she's witnessed the escalation in immigration enforcement tactics at courthouses.

She said at least eight people were detained at Denver's federal immigration court from May 29 through June 5, as her group raised the alarm about the new practice.

For these impacted migrants, "you're following the rules; you're showing up" to hearings, Piper said. "Now, when you're showing up, there's this risk that you will be detained -- and that once detained, you'll have to fight your deportation case from inside detention."

In Aurora, the ICE detention center that's run by a government contractor, the GEO Group, is the hub of local immigration enforcement activity. The agency as its only detention center in the state.

As of June 6, the facility housed 1,020 people -- more than 90% of them men, according to published by U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, a Democrat whose district includes the center.

The top five countries of origin among detainees were Mexico, Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras and India, the report says. Information was unavailable on the number of people brought into or released from the facility around that time. However, a previous report from May 16 said 131 people left the center during the prior week -- 124 deported from the U.S. and seven released from the facility.

Near the end of former President Joe Biden's administration, about 15 to 20 people were released from the GEO facility each week, estimated Andrea Loya, the executive director of , an Aurora-based organization that works with detained immigrants directly.

Now, several months into Trump's new term, she says the average has fallen to just five to 10 per week.

Trump's approach draws some support

Some Coloradans back Trump's removal efforts to varying degrees, including those who argue for changes to the federal immigration system.

They're not alone: Just over 50% of American adults want to see some immigrants without legal status deported, and another 32% would like to see all of them removed from the country, the reported in March. But other national polling results have differed, with only 43% of Americans approving of Trump's approach to immigration as of June in a .

The found in March that 53% of likely voters in the state believe Trump "has gone too far" in his deportation efforts, while 26% believe the administration has been "about right" in its approach.

In Castle Rock, Juan Candil supports Trump's strategy.

"I feel that not a lot of Latinos or immigrants would agree with me. I feel that things are changing for the better" under Trump, said Candil, 24.

The Colombian immigrant applied for asylum almost a decade ago, arguing that he had much to fear in his home country. However, he's still waiting for his turn with an asylum officer.

Candil depicted some recent migrants as very good people, while others are "bad actors," he said. Candil agrees with the administration's encouragement of self-deportation, in particular.

"That is relieving pressure from the system -- which, hopefully, also means that we get on the docket of some immigration judge sooner than later," Candil said.

Though he and his parents left Bogotá, Colombia, in 2016 after he said cartels threatened their safety, they still have yet to progress through the asylum process, he said: "It's been nine years. We're still waiting on an answer."

His family continues to shell out cash for attorneys and work authorization renewals, but "that money could kick-start our American dream of owning a house or starting our own business," Candil said.

Scott Shamblin, 23, also wants to see reforms in the nation's immigration system, including a streamlined process for immigrants with proper legal status to gain citizenship.

"I'm very pro-immigration, as is basically any Republican you talk to, including Trump," said Shamblin, who serves as the chair of the Arapahoe County Young Republicans. "It's just, they should do so legally."

He said Americans should have a say in who can stay.

"We should know who is in our country, and especially if they are criminals," Shamblin added.

James Wiley, the executive director of the Libertarian Party of Colorado, described his party, which has the most affiliated voters of any minor party in the state, as historically conflicted on immigration.

"Oftentimes, we consider any acts of the state to be violent and, therefore, any enforcement of borders to be an expression of that violence," Wiley said.

However, that sentiment has narrowed in recent years, particularly within the state's party, as Libertarians take an interest in some immigration restrictions. Now, they tend to welcome newcomers to the country -- if they align with American values.

"Let anybody come here who actually values the same things that Americans value: liberty, freedom, personal responsibility, personal sovereignty," Wiley said.

In his view, Mexico and Canada do not share those values, though he'd favor open borders with Argentina.

"What I'm seeing from the administration over the last five months is good in the element of a reduction of immigration, but it's not necessarily for the right reasons," Wiley said. "It's based on fear."

Worries mount in immigrant communities

Among many in Colorado's immigrant communities, the Trump administration's methods have inspired the kind of fear that Wiley is talking about.

"I, unfortunately, will say I think the Trump administration has been very effective," said state Rep. Yara Zokaie, a Fort Collins Democrat, "and that they are ignoring court orders and that they are using military force to enact their policies."

She argues that ICE is targeting migrants beyond violent criminals and that family separation has already occurred in her district, with parents deported and children left behind.

As an Iranian-American legislator, Zokaie also hears from the state's Middle Eastern community. She said some of those Coloradans are worried about the new travel ban, which went into effect June 9.

According to the , immigrants and nonimmigrants alike from 12 countries -- including Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen -- cannot enter the United States.

"There's a lot of concern over whether folks who live here can travel," Zokaie said.

On top of that, she added, "we have people who are fleeing from majority-Muslim and African nations -- that are fleeing violence and persecution and authoritarian regimes -- and this puts their lives in danger."

In Colorado, Zokaie says American citizens who are Brown are opting to carry their U.S. passports with them on a regular basis.

But on the Western Slope, Vanessa, a 25-year-old immigrant, doesn't have that option as a grantee of the . She declined to use her last name, citing concerns about potential changes to her legal status under the Trump administration.

Vanessa was only 6 months old when her parents brought her across the southern U.S. border from Guerrero, Mexico. "My parents decided to come over here for a better job opportunity, education and for safety," she said.

At 16, Vanessa was accepted as a DACA recipient during Obama's administration. Since then, she's used it to work and attend college. But Vanessa's uncertain about the fate of the program under Trump.

"I don't know what's going to happen to DACA," she said. "My whole life is based on this. My career is on this."

She also worries about workplace raids sweeping up her loved ones who are undocumented.

Still, "my parents have never been the type where they will stop doing what they are going to do because of this," Vanessa said. "If we're not doing anything wrong, we shouldn't be scared."

At Meyer's Denver law firm, he's helping clients without legal status prepare their families for the possibility of ICE apprehension and is familiarizing them with how to fight to stay in immigration court.

A few clients have approached the attorney to discuss self-deportation. But even more have conferred with him about how to seek legal protections or apply for green cards or citizenship, he said.

"For most immigrants, I think self-deportation is not a viable option," Meyer said. "The longer people have been here, the deeper their ties. And the deeper their ties, the more things they have to fight for."

'I see their horror and their fear'

A Denver-based organization is contending with another aspect of the Trump administration's approach to curtailing immigration: the president's indefinite .

The decision has left the Ethiopian Community Development Council's  grappling with how it can fulfill its mission as a nonprofit refugee resettlement agency.

Rhossy Ouanzin Gbebri, the development and communications manager, says he's unsure when the halt will be lifted. The agency typically serves 1,000 to 1,200 people annually.

"If we don't receive refugees, we don't get the money that we're supposed to get to be able to help them," Ouanzin Gbebri said. "Everything that is happening at the federal level impacts our work."

When the State Department ordered agencies to cease work under certain grants, the center was forced to let go of 15 staff members. The people it serves -- particularly those who haven't mastered English yet -- continue leaning on staff for help.

"Over the past five months, I've seen all sorts of emotion," Ouanzin Gbebri said. "A lot of people were scared. A lot of people were coming to the office to get help."

But volunteers have stepped up and lawyers are teaching refugees about their rights -- making for a silver lining for Ouanzin Gbebri.

"This work matters," he said. "Refugees here still need our help."

Other Coloradans have supported immigrants facing insecurities under Trump, including U.S. citizens motivated to respond after seeing the impact of the president's policies on their neighbors.

In Aurora, the Rev. Wayne Laws of the United Church of Christ is handling fears among the devout in the local faith community.

"Some pastors are reporting a drop-off in the congregation because immigrants, migrants are afraid to come to worship services," said Laws, 70.

But he says he's also seeing a greater level of activism. Laws and other local faith leaders are working together to launch , an organization that would provide crisis care to vulnerable populations.

Denver resident Roz Heise, 82, says she knows many immigrants without full legal status.

"I see their horror and their fear," Heise said. "I feel helpless and sad and frustrated and ashamed."

The octogenarian said that, over the course of her life, she hadn't heard such negative rhetoric about immigrants until Trump's first term. She's written letters to her elected officials and attended protests.

"If they want to arrest me for something, go right ahead," Heise said. "I mean, I'm 82. What are they gonna do? Kill me?"

As Trump's approach on immigration evolves -- and -- she's among immigrant-rights advocates, lawyers and officials in Colorado who say they will be ready to respond.

As state officials challenge some of the cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration, Polis created the dashboard to highlight the governor’s push for Coloradans to “get a fair share” of the federal taxes they pay, according to a news release. Polis cited by the Rockefeller Institute of Government showing that for every $1 Colorado pays in federal taxes, the state receives only 90 cents back in federal investment, not including COVID-related spending.

Colorado has also “successfully defended” another $282 million that the federal government sought to cancel, suspend or otherwise delay, according to the dashboard. The state data does not include proposed changes under the federal budget bill that is sitting in the Senate. The Trump-backed tax-and-spending bill has already passed the House.

“The Trump administration is trying to rip away local and state funding that supports cybersecurity and public safety, helps Coloradans access or charge low-cost electric vehicles, helps people access food and more,” Polis said in a statement.

“This is federal funding that has already been allocated to states by Congress, and now the administration is working to take it away,” he continued. “We are doing everything in our power to protect this funding for Coloradans and local governments, including pursuing legal action when necessary.”

He added that the dashboard will “help increase transparency and accountability.”

The Trump administration has worked to cut and reshape federal spending, regardless of whether Congress approved it or not.

Colorado and Denver faced cuts and freezes to spending for electric vehicle charging and clean water projects, grants for public health, and promised money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help house migrants, among other items.

The dashboard also breaks down cuts and attempted cuts by county and congressional district. It shows the 3rd and 4th congressional districts as facing the biggest enacted and proposed cuts, at $25.7 million and $21.8 million, respectively. Those districts are represented by Republican U.S. Reps. Jeff Hurd and Lauren Boebert.

The dashboard is not comprehensive, however. It does not include freezes or cuts to institutions of higher education, local agencies, nonprofits or other community partners, according to Polis’ office.

In reality, the city’s trouble has been bubbling for years. Johnston, who took office in mid-2023, has been bracing for big budget changes since at least 2024.

As early as last September, he was advising a conservative approach for the 2025 budget in remarks to the City Council — and warning that “we have to look at more significantly slowing or stopping the growth of government.”

The can be explained with three quick facts: For years, the city’s expenses have grown. Its main source of revenue hasn’t. And the city’s savings account is running low.

In Denver’s 2024 and 2025 budgets, the Johnston administration chose to cut into the city’s savings more than what����ap recommended. Over the last decade, under Johnston and former Mayor Michael Hancock, the city added about 4,000 employees and expanded both programs and the purview of city government. And as those expenses grew, residents stopped spending as much as they once did on things like restaurants and visits downtown, causing sales tax revenue to flatten.

Now the city has $50 million to make up for this year and an estimated $200 million gap in 2026. The mayor is set to require furloughs and layoffs, and officials are considering whether they will need to cut or reduce programs.

More decisions about exactly how many layoffs to order and other cost-saving measures are expected in the coming months, as officials write the 2026 budget. The mayor typically unveils his proposed budget for the next year in mid-September, and the council approves the final version in November.

For Councilman Kevin Flynn, the budget situation and the low city reserves are “kind of frightening.”

“If we could retrospectively reduce spending money that we’ve already spent and claw it back, that would be great,” said Flynn, who has been on the council since 2015. “But we can’t do that.”

Rising costs have mounted

One of the biggest impacts on Denver’s budget has come from the growth in both personnel and contract costs. The general fund, which pays mostly for personnel and day-to-day operations, shot up 83% between 2012 and 2022, Johnston said in a recent interview with The Denver Post.

In November, the council approved a $4.4 billion overall budget for 2025, with $1.76 billion in general fund spending.

As Denver has hired more people to accommodate demand for services by the growing city population, those employees’ compensation has also increased. There are now nearly 15,000 city employees, representing about $1.2 billion in costs in 2025.

Meanwhile, city contracting costs have also become broader in scope and more expensive with inflation, growing about 70% since 2012.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the city received hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act. Officials used some of it on new projects, like opening shelters for Johnston’s All in Mile High initiative and, earlier, a rent-assistance program.

Once those grant dollars dried up, Johnston’s administration decided to continue the projects.

The mayor has also used general fund dollars to pay for things like migrant and homeless services. Between 2022 and 2024, migrant sheltering and services cost the city about $95 million, putting pressure on the budget. Denver expected to receive about $32 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to offset that cost and is now in a legal battle with the Trump administration over the money.

The ongoing homelessness initiative, which Johnston singles out as one of his top priorities, costs about $57 million annually, including to run shelters in large hotels. Johnston said that while he expects cuts to that program, it����ap likely to be less impacted than other budget items. Reducing homelessness is an investment in the city’s economy, he said.

“Homelessness was the reason I ran for mayor,” Johnston said. “It was the single most important issue in the city and we’re making dramatic impact on actually resolving this issue.”

Johnston’s critics have challenged the idea that the budget crisis was unavoidable. Lisa Calderón, who ran for mayor in 2023 and came in third, said she believes Johnston’s administration should have been more conservative with the budget.

“There is not a culture where you can speak up and say, ‘I think we are misspending, overspending money,’ ” she said.

Johnston defends his team’s choices, saying his advisers did take action once revenues started slowing. But they couldn’t have predicted the worsening conditions, he said. In the 2025 budget, the city left about 200 positions vacant to help decrease payroll costs.

A closer look at the ‘rainy day fund’

Denver has a target of having 15% of what it spends each year on operations set aside as savings. In 2024, that was about $260 million.

Under Johnston and Hancock’s administrations, it became a common practice to use any dollars above that margin to balance the budget.

The city’s financial guidelines say that fund should be used only to pay for one-time expenses. But over the years, as the stockpile continued to grow, city leaders began using it for ongoing payments, said Stephanie Adams, who was a city budget director during Hancock’s administration and now serves as the deputy chief financial officer.

In the past two years, the city’s budget writers chose to let the rainy day fund slip below that recommended level. It now sits closer to 11%, with about $202 million remaining.

With revenue growth slowing in recent years, something has to change to keep it from falling even lower, Adams said.

“I think there was a little bit of us thinking, and hoping, this was a bit of an anomaly,” Adams said in a recent interview.

When explaining the decision to go below 15% to the council last September, Budget Director Justin Sykes said Denver would have had to cut its expenditures significantly to stay at that recommended level.

“This was something that was reached based on the weighing of those tradeoffs,” he said .

The hope was that sales tax revenue would rebound and the city would be able to refill its savings account. Instead, revenue further flattened. In 2022, sales tax revenue grew by 9%. In 2024, it was only 2%.

Denver’s income growth slows

Slightly more than half of the city’s expenses are paid for with revenue from Denver’s 5.15% sales tax rate, part of the effective 9.15% sales tax paid on purchases in the city.

The growth in that source of income has tapered off in recent years — something city officials attribute to decreases in consumer confidence. by the market research firm Ipsos shows that after a surge in consumer confidence following the COVID-19 pandemic, buyers’ sentiments have mostly sagged since 2021.

But nationwide spending habits aren’t the only factor. Denver’s struggling city center is also contributing to a sluggish income. Downtown, which represents only 1.8% of Denver’s land, once brought in 13% of the city’s property and sales tax revenues, according to the Downtown Denver Partnership.

Now, that share is closer to 8%.

The area has struggled to attract the same amount of foot traffic as office space has remained empty in the wake of the pandemic, while construction on the 16th Street mall has dragged on and perceptions of unsafe conditions have lingered. Johnston hopes the reopening of 16th Street — with a rebrand dropping “Mall” from its name — and investments in public safety will reinvigorate the area.

That����ap indicative of Johnston’s overall plan to move the city through the crisis.

After making cuts to city expenditures, the mayor wants to move full steam ahead on capital projects like the National Women’s Soccer League stadium, more expansion at the National Western Center and an $800 million bond proposal for voters. Denver pays for capital projects with another section of the budget separate from the general fund.

“For us, there are only two solutions to this. One is, you have to cut costs,” Johnston said in an interview last month, “and the second is, you have to increase revenue. You have to grow your way out of this.”