I’m an unashamed subscriber to self-care culture.

Hear me out: It’s more than a gimmick on social media. Though contrarians could argue that it’s morphed into an industry based on consumerism, self-care at its core is a pillar to uphold in our fast-paced lives. Why? Because it forces you to slow down.

We’re taught from a young age that caring for ourselves means moving our bodies meaningfully and feeding them well. But on top of that, we can make our bodies feel their best — and take intentional time away from the stress of work and life — through self-care.

Often, that can just mean a hot bubble bath and a face mask after a long day. But if you’d like to step up your routine, then I have several tried-and-true services in Denver to recommend. At an economic moment when people are hesitant to spend their cash, these are my personal favorites that I consider worth the price for the value they provide.

Pur Artistry Japanese Head Spa

I’ve been entranced by those viral videos of Japanese head spas for a while now. Clients protected by eye masks lay their heads under a halo-shaped tool that gently sprays water as technicians shampoo, massage and condition their hair. It wasn’t long before I turned to Google to find local head spa experiences, and I saved a trip to Pur Artistry Japanese Head Spa for a special occasion.

Unfortunately, it was too good, and I’m now convinced that this has to be a monthly expense.

The city’s two locations in LoHi and Denver Tech Center offer four head spa experiences, ranging from $125 for an hour to $250 for 115 minutes. I tried the shortest option, the “essential head spa.” First, my technician performed a scalp analysis, identifying any flakiness, redness, oil and more. In Colorado’s dry climate, our skin is crying for help — even on our heads. After changing into a robe, the spa experience began: exfoliation, a double cleanse, a massage and conditioner.

Once that wrapped up, I was handed a tray of refreshments to enjoy while my technician blow-dried my hair. The second scalp analysis confirmed that I was a new woman.

4940 S. Newport St., Denver, and 1735 Central St., Denver

Talia Rose Aesthetics

Before Talia Rose Aesthetics, I was bouncing from chain to chain, trying to find a facial spa where the quality matched the cost. After my first facial with esthetician Talia Rosen, I was hooked.

I’ve tried several of her services: the “yours truly ritual” at $125 for 75 minutes, the “glass skin ritual” at $115 for an hour and the seasonal facial at $115 for 75 minutes. The “yours truly ritual” starts by selecting an affirmation card from a deck and settling into her cozy studio space in City Park West for some leisure time. From there, Rosen cycles through aromatherapy, a skin analysis, a double cleanse, enzyme exfoliation, pore extractions, massage and a treatment mask.

She’s a one-woman show: small business owner, esthetician and hidden industry gem.

1610 Gaylord St., Denver

SweatHouz: Cold Plunge and Infrared Sauna Studio

In search of a sauna to fight the winter chill, I frequented SweatHouz: Cold Plunge and Infrared Sauna Studio when it first opened its South Broadway location. Since then, the national franchise has unveiled plans to open on Tennyson Street and in the Denver Tech Center.

That’s for good reason, because this contrast therapy studio has a lot to offer. After booking my first hourlong session for $45, I was escorted to my private suite, which included an infrared sauna, a cold plunge tub and a vitamin-C shower. I had control of the temperature in the sauna where I sweat it out for up to 45 minutes, watching Netflix all the while. I could only stand a few minutes in the cold plunge, which drops as low as 48 degrees.

It felt like an hour well-spent. The catch: After the first try, the price jumps to $80 per session, which I can’t abide. But SweatHouz offers great promotions, and I’ve wholeheartedly taken advantage of them. If you love it, you can purchase a membership or package, which both drive that cost per session down to a more reasonable number.

2101 S. Broadway, Denver

Bori Curls Studio

This one is for the curly folks. If you’re anything like me, you’ve also faced a lifelong struggle to find hairstylists who know how to handle ringlets. I’ve been duped countless times by well-intentioned hair professionals who claimed to work with curls but left me looking like the Native Hawaiian version of Little Orphan Annie with a brunette bob.

Frances Alabarces, the owner and curl specialist at Bori Curls Studio in the University Park neighborhood, is the first stylist who’s made my curls look even better — and walks me through the process of how to care for them myself. As the only person in my immediate family with curly hair, this is a game-changer.

A curly pixie cut and a kids’ curly cut both cost $120. From there, she offers separate rates for new and existing clients. For new clients, a curly cut for low- and medium-density hair is priced at $150 for 90 minutes and a curly cut for high-density hair is $170 for two hours. The service includes a dry cut or trim, then a styling lesson and product recommendations.

Originally from Puerto Rico, she serves both Spanish- and English-speaking clients. I’ve seen her for years, and, when I move from Denver, I plan to make return trips for my haircuts. Is that ridiculous? Maybe — but she’s the only one allowed to touch my curls now.

2496 S. University Blvd., Denver

Purluxe Beauty Bar

Purluxe Beauty Bar is everything you want in a nail salon: bright, clean and fast. The wine and cocktail options are an added bonus.

I have my go-to selections — classic pedicure and Gel-X manicure — but the list of services is extensive. Customers can opt for a simple combo like the classic manicure at $32 and the classic pedicure at $42, or amp up the luxury with selections including the mango madness pedicure at $75, the champagne and roses pedicure at $85, and the Pur deluxe pedicure at $125.

This salon is top-tier, with nail technicians pampering your hands and feet at once. I’m almost always out the door within the hour — and that’s no small feat.

Locations in Cherry Creek, Lower Highland and the Denver Tech Center

Capitol Eyebrow Threading

Tucked away in the Cheesman Park neighborhood is Capitol Eyebrow Threading, a no-frills spot that is hands down the best deal for facial hair removal. Though I am part of the generation of young women whose moms largely introduced them to eyebrow waxing, I decided a change was in order and pivoted to eyebrow threading.

Capitol Eyebrow Threading is open to walk-in customers, and I’ve never had to make an appointment. For just $15, the owner sits me down and shapes my eyebrows within minutes. My face — and my wallet — have never been happier.

1205 E. 9th Ave., Denver

Lake Steam Baths

As a reporter, I’ve covered Lake Steam Baths — a Denver institution since 1927 — several times. As a customer, I’ve frequented the Russian bathhouse on West Colfax Avenue even more often. For a $32 day pass, I can languish in the sauna, steam room, hot tub and showers.

The bathhouse hosts men’s days on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Its women’s days fall on Monday and Thursday. Most times, I quietly relax by myself, though it’s a spot to socialize, too. I was recently shown how to use the venik, or a bundle of leaves, which is vigorously slapped against your body to move the steam. Another client taught me to rub Epsom salts under my armpits and feet to remove the day’s negative energy.

A trick I discovered for myself was the bathhouse’s soap and salt scrubs. That’s a service that I usually associate with Korean spas, so I was initially a little surprised to see it offered at the bathhouse. Ranging in price from $25 to $30, the scrubber on duty cleans and exfoliates your body over the course of a half hour, getting all the spots on your back that you can’t reach. I leave feeling as shiny as a seal — a sense of cleanliness and calm that every body deserves.

3540 W. Colfax Ave., Denver

“I’m upset,” said Ricks, who arrived in the United States from Liberia more than three decades ago, in a recent interview. “You never hear about the positive aspects of what immigrants bring — what we contribute as far as tax dollars, as far as labor, as far as science, technology.”

The rhetoric has grown more negative, she and several other immigrants said, amid President Donald Trump’s intense focus on deporting immigrants without proper legal status since he returned to office in January. But with immigration front and center in politics, even immigrants and migrants who are directly affected hold differing opinions about the resulting societal tensions and actions targeting their communities.

Some argue that it’s tougher than ever to be an immigrant. Others counter that the United States remains a welcoming country and say Trump is following the correct approaches to stymy illegal immigration.

“What President Trump and ICE are doing is just following the rules,” said Alberto Bejarano, who immigrated to Denver from Maracaibo, Venezuela, in 2018 to escape political persecution. He’s been in the asylum process since then. “If you’re here illegally, you need to go and try to come back in a different way. That’s it.”

In recent years, Denver received an influx of more than 40,000 migrants — many of whom are Bejarano’s fellow Venezuelans — who traveled to Colorado from the southern U.S. border. The flow of new arrivals has slowed since early last year, in the final months of former President Joe Biden’s administration.

Among them was Ender Rojas Rivas, who arrived in Denver from Valencia, Venezuela, in late 2023. He’s applied for asylum, secured his work permit and registered a small construction business.

Though Rojas Rivas, 47, has taken steps to reside in the U.S. legally, he’s concerned about escalating immigration enforcement under Trump, which has included more scrutiny of asylum claims from the past few years. He says he’s watched fellow Venezuelans and Mexicans, especially, feel the impact of detainments and deportations.

“I am worried, all the same, because they’re taking all these Mexicans that have all this time here,” Rojas Rivas said in Spanish through a translator. “Me, I only have one year (here) — oh, man.”

Nga Vương-Sandoval, the executive director of Refugees + Immigrants United Colorado, contends that the reasons why migrants leave their home countries today — political persecution and civil wars, gang violence, climate change, economic collapse and more — are myriad and nuanced.

How President Trump’s shifting deportation push has played out in Colorado: ‘There’s no small moves’

She believes immigrants face more hostility now than her Vietnamese family did when its members first landed in the United States decades ago, though Vương-Sandoval said xenophobia and racism were prevalent back then. Her family fled political oppression during the Vietnam War, escaping on a cargo ship with 3-year-old Vương-Sandoval in tow, and were resettled in the U.S. as refugees.

Today, "there are consistently anti-immigration sentiments," she said. "You see pushbacks, you see extensive delays, and even, in many cases, (U.S. authorities) ignoring international protections that were put into place for these exact situations."

Immigration 'is like a political football'

According to a May survey by the Pew Research Center, 82% of Americans believe immigrants without legal status face some or a lot of discrimination -- "the highest share for any group among 20 included in the survey." Meanwhile, 65% said immigrants who are in the U.S. legally face some or a lot of discrimination.

While several longtime immigrants faced social and systemic hurdles when they first moved to the United States decades ago, they contend that it's become more difficult to resettle here in recent years.

Ricks, a third-term Democratic state representative whose district includes part of Aurora -- Colorado's most racially and ethnically diverse city, and home to many immigrants -- arrived in the United States in 1980 as a teenager. Her family had fled Liberia's civil war after her mother’s fiance was murdered by a firing squad.

Once in the U.S., her mom -- who had earned a biology degree -- took on management positions at fast food chains like Church's Texas Chicken to earn money, Ricks said.

"They were beneath what her qualifications were," Ricks said. "But she needed to acclimate quickly to have money to pay the rent for us."

Ricks recalls encountering curiosity over her accent and being asked questions about whether Africans wear clothes and drive cars.

But "at the time, immigration wasn't the focus," she said. "It wasn't like today, where this is like a political football."

Her family applied for political asylum in the United States. They didn't have a lawyer, so they had to navigate the process themselves, Ricks said. Ultimately, their asylum application wasn't granted.

Ricks later earned her citizenship in the early 1990s.

Legal difficulties persist for immigrants today, Ricks said, adding: "It's hard for you to get a work permit or for you to even start working to take care of your family."

Ndeye Ndao, 40, has lived in the U.S. since 2003 and received her American citizenship in January. When she was first acclimating to her new country two decades ago, the Denver resident remembered that transition period as a challenge.

"At times, (Americans were) not so welcoming," Ndao said. "At other times, they were more curious."

Ndao left Senegal in West Africa at 19 to study overseas. Intent on joining her brother in the U.S., she applied for a visa.

She landed first in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Ndao said the locale wasn't very diverse. However, Western Michigan University enrolled many international students, and she was soon part of a small Senegalese community.

But it took time for her to learn fluent English. Ndao said she dealt with questions like, "Why didn't you stay in your country?" and "What are you doing here?"

Even so, "it was more welcoming back then," Ndao said. "After becoming a naturalized citizen, I still don't feel safe because anything could happen to me -- because, at the end of the day, I'm still an immigrant."

'You gotta love this country,' councilman tells kids

Not every immigrant shares that sentiment.

Aurora City Councilman Amsalu Kassaw became the first immigrant of color to sit on the council when he filled a vacancy in January. He said now is a good time to be an immigrant because of the strong community that people can lean on to learn about American culture, job opportunities and other support necessary to acclimate.

"The newcomers right now -- they are in (better) shape" than immigrants were when he arrived in late 2006, he said. "The newcomers are very lucky."

Over the years, Kassaw, 43, worked his way through the immigration system, from refugee to U.S. citizen. In Ethiopia, he was a civic leader, but the ruling party labeled him as opposition, Kassaw said. Threats of torture and arrest drove his escape to the U.S.

After his arrival, Kassaw dealt with culture shock and snow, which was new to him. But he said he was welcomed by Americans with open arms.

"I tell my kids, 'You gotta love this country,' " Kassaw said.

Today, he works as a lieutenant at the GEO Group, the contractor that runs the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Aurora. Kassaw estimates that 60% of its workforce is made up of immigrants like him, and often they help with language translation during proceedings.

As ICE ramps up enforcement activities, Kassaw says the agents are doing their jobs by targeting criminals.

"You've just gotta follow the rules," he said. "If you're here illegally, you've just gotta go and register yourself and go through the due process."

Two men await asylum decisions

Bejarano agrees. He said he left Venezuela for his own safety. His father, a retired doctor, was murdered in 2007, then Bejarano was forced to flee the country a decade later after he had protested the government and criticized President Nicolás Maduro's regime.

"Due to the political persecution, I have to leave Venezuela and leave everything behind and start from zero in my 40s," Bejarano said. "When people know what I went through and how I did things and followed the process -- and did it in a legal way -- they are very supportive of me."

In 2018, he resettled in Denver, securing his work permit. He's still waiting for an interview with an asylum officer. Though Bejarano faced difficulties finding employment, he said, he worked as an apartment service manager for four years before losing his job when his work permit expired.

Still, "I've felt welcomed by everyone," said Bejarano, 49. "I haven't had a single negative experience. It's actually the opposite."

He depicted a minority of his countrymen as "troublemakers" who have spurred negative stereotypes about Venezuelans in the U.S.

"I know some people just want a better life, and they want an opportunity to work hard and be honest people here," Bejarano said. "But with them come bad elements, too."

Ultimately, he backs Trump's immigration agenda.

Rojas Rivas, the Venezuelan man who arrived more recently, doesn't support the president -- "I'm not mental," he said. But he also doesn't feel he's been discriminated against by Americans. While building his new life in Colorado, Rojas Rivas' goal has been to work and support his family. He's also awaiting his asylum court date.

"For the future here, I have a business," said Rojas Rivas, who spends his days painting and remodeling homes. "And I want to continue progressing with that."

To other Coloradans, he has a request: "That you support us, that you help us, that you trust us," Rojas Rivas said. "And that (you) don't allow that they separate us from our families."

The administration’s underlying goal, according to reporting by national media outlets: 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 reported about 66,000 arrests 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 data obtained by CBS News, 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 published statistics online 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, almost 9,000 new deportation cases 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 posting on social media 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 at least 11 people were taken from Colorado to El Salvador's CECOT prison as of April. The Trump administration, in a much-challenged move, 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 the Pew Research Center. 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 ICE's annual report.

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 a recent report by Reuters 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 Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, 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 American Friends Service Committee 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 lists the facility 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 the latest accountability report 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 Casa de Paz, 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 Pew Research Center 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 Quinnipiac University poll.

The Colorado Polling Institute 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 presidential proclamation, 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 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. 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 suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.

The decision has left the Ethiopian Community Development Council's African Community Center of Denver 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 Mutual Aid Sanctuary, 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 he puts more pressure on ICE to increase arrests -- she's among immigrant-rights advocates, lawyers and officials in Colorado who say they will be ready to respond.

In the Wednesday letter sent to ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, the six members of the Congressional Hispanic Conference expressed concerns “that your limited resources may be stretched to pursue individuals that do not constitute an immediate threat to public safety,” according to a copy shared online by Axios.

They wrote that immigration enforcement must follow “levels of priority,” adding: “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.”

Though the representatives assert that they stand in support of President Donald Trump’s border-security efforts, they wrote that “we need to give absolute priority to every violent offender and convicted criminal illegal alien present in our nation.

“Diverting limited resources to other objectives puts our national security at risk,” the letter says.

The letter is a rare expression of concern by Trump’s allies in Congress over his administration’s immigration enforcement priorities. The move comes as protests against ICE enforcement actions have spread across the country, with recent federal raids and civil resistance in Los Angeles catching the world’s attention.

This week, hundreds marched through downtown Denver, with police arresting 18 people Tuesday night.

The lawmakers cite figures, also reported by national news outlets, showing ICE had arrested over 100,000 people by early June. For months, immigration advocates have argued that the agency was detaining and deporting non-criminals.

“The point of the letter is to make sure we’re doing what we said we were going to do all along: crush the criminals and cartels who are making Colorado the second most dangerous state in the nation so we can work on a path for people who are immigrating the right way,” Evans told The Denver Post in an emailed statement.

He is the grandson of Mexican immigrants, and his grandfather became a U.S. citizen through his military service in World War II.

The other signatories on the letter were Reps. Tony Gonzales of Texas, Monica De La Cruz of Texas, María Elvira Salazar of Florida, Nicole Malliotakis of New York and David Valadao of California.

The group asked ICE to provide them with an estimate of the number of deportees removed since January who were convicted criminals and the number who had ties to criminal enterprises or gangs. They also asked ICE to identify hurdles the agency has faced in the repatriation process with other countries.

ICE’s Denver field office spokesperson Steve Kotecki didn’t immediately respond to a request Thursday to provide data breaking down the numbers of Colorado detainees and deportees since Jan. 20 who have criminal ties or solely civil violations.

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After visiting Europe again in March, she no longer feels the same way.

The Colorado Springs resident and her husband spent a week in Barcelona, Spain, where they planned to hike the mountain of Montserrat and visit the famed Santa Maria de Montserrat abbey to light holy candles for her granddaughter and her home country, she said.

A Latina who’s fluent in Spanish, Meehan sparked several conversations with people she met along the journey. Her taxi driver noticed the couple was American and compared the U.S. to his motherland, which is a dictatorship, Meehan said. “You’ll get used to it,” he told her.

Once at the abbey, Meehan realized she hadn’t purchased an advance ticket, so she faced a lengthy queue. She said she pleaded her case to a guard. “I’m from America, and I need to light a holy candle because of Trump,” she told him. At that, the guard escorted her past the line. “He said, ‘And light a big candle. Your country’s in trouble,'” Meehan added.

Colorado travelers like Meehan believe they are facing complications and negative interactions abroad due to President Donald Trump’s approach to foreign affairs. In just four months, he has proposed seizing control of Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada; sparked a global trade war through his inconsistent use of tariffs, with a focus specifically on China; and deported migrants to at least eight countries in Central and South America.

Some are concerned about how they’ll be received as Americans by government officials, locals and even other tourists, while others have already noticed tension on trips abroad this year.

Erin Morris, 45, is a U.S. citizen who has resided in Denver for seven years. She lived abroad in her youth, then spent a decade in Costa Rica. But while she has felt some unease in the past, those experiences are “nothing like this,” Morris said. “This is totally different.”

And they came from an unexpected place: Canadians traveling in Mexico. “There are a ton of Canadian ex-pats where we were, and they are really upset and very vocal,” she said. “I’ve never interacted with Canadians who are angry before.”

Morris said they seethed about Trump’s tariffs and his jabs at Canada. “The sentiment was mostly: they feel like they’ve been a good ally and a good friend to the U.S., and that they don’t deserve to be treated like that,” Morris said.

Jill Collins, 42, has traveled to 73 countries, globe-trotting as far as Kazakhstan and Georgia. In March and April, the Denverite visited Hong Kong, China and Japan with her husband.

He is a New Zealand citizen, while Collins holds both Austrian and American passports. “We intentionally traveled under my Austrian passport for this trip because of that rhetoric” by Trump, Collins said. “If I didn’t have another passport, maybe I wouldn’t have gone to China this trip.”

At the airport, Chinese customs officers had travelers hold their passports above their heads. Collins believes that happened so officers could easily see which countries people hailed from. Afterward, “the only people they pulled aside were people with U.S. passports,” Collins said.

After discussing the experience on a tour, Collins said her guide confirmed that the few Americans coming to China are being held at the airport with no explanation for extended periods of time.

In other conversations with hotel staff and tour guides, “they actually seem to feel a little bit sorry for us,” Collins said. “They make comments like, ‘It’s affecting us, too, and we’re in it with you.’ ”

Denver resident Danya Strait, 37, fielded frantic questions about the U.S. from foreigners when she spent a couple weeks in Berlin, Germany, earlier this year for a work trip.

“It definitely felt a little bit like 2016 and ’17 or going way back to the early 2000s when Bush was in office, and we kind of felt like we had to tell people we’re Canadian, not American,” Strait said.

The discourse with her foreign colleagues “was a lot of like, what is even happening in your country right now?” Strait said. “Questions around: Do you guys think you might want to, like, live abroad and not be there anymore?”

The experience overseas gave her some pause. She wonders whether criticisms of the federal government will impact her passage through U.S. Customs and Border Protection ports of entry. Strait also fears whether her access to other countries will eventually be limited as a U.S. citizen.

“I’m just nervous that other countries are gonna stop letting us in, especially if there becomes a greater exodus in people wanting to leave the U.S. altogether,” she said.

Travel agent Celine Kirk, 29, said she’s “seeing a lot of fear in the consumer,” and has been taking extra steps to prepare her clients for how to travel under Trump.

For instance, in China, Kirk recommends embodying the “quiet tourist” archetype: speaking less loudly, not being on the phone constantly and respecting local cultures.

While that is good advice for travel at any time, Kirk said it’s especially important under the current administration. That’s compared to former President Barack Obama’s two terms when “very friendly” tourism policies existed between China and the U.S., Kirk added. Then, “it was a little more comfortable than during the previous and current Trump administration,” she said.

Kirk’s Arvada-based company, Trek It Travel Agency, helps people book everything from $500 weekend trips to a $60,000 cruise along the Panama Canal. That one has left some clients with concerns after the Trump administration’s talk of controlling the Central American waterway.

She’s also seeing an uptick in would-be travelers apprehensive about visiting Mexico due to the recent focus on the U.S.-Mexico border. “The biggest thing is perceived safety,” Kirk said. “People see news about the border and think it is a reflection of the whole country and have a hard time separating the border from heavily tourist-reliant areas like Los Cabos and Cancún.”

Those Mexican cities, as well as islands in the Caribbean, are hospitality hotspots, so Kirk doesn’t think travelers should expect much of a difference in how they’re received. But in countries with economies that aren’t as reliant on tourism, she advises visitors to be more mindful.

“When we talk about going overseas, I think the location is going to be heavily dependent on the way that Americans are viewed,” Kirk said.

As for Meehan and her trip to Spain, she recalls noticing a group of young German men at an airport who were watching CNN. “As soon as Trump got on there — oh, my God — they started screaming and hollering at the TV,” she said.

“But this is what Trump did,” Meehan added. “This is what he did, and our standing in the world is different now.”

Zev Baumgarten, who controls the property management company alongside his New York-based brother Shmaryahu Baumgarten, neglected to appear for a hearing about his city code violation charges, according to Aurora city spokesperson Joe Rubino.

Rubino said bench warrants were issued in each of the seven cases, and bond was set at $2,000 — cash or survey — but will convert to personal recognizance bonds, or signature bonds, if Baumgarten turns himself in.

CBZ Management has made headlines for the poor living conditions at several of its properties across the Denver area. That includes the Edge of Lowry apartments — the scene of last year’s viral video of armed men roaming its halls that sparked allegations of a gang takeover in Aurora by President Donald Trump.

Long before claims of Aurora gang takeover, apartment owners came under fire from inspectors and residents

This isn't the first warrant that Baumgarten has been issued in metro Denver. In March, a Denver judge also hit him with an arrest warrant after he didn't show for a disposition hearing about the William Penn Apartments. That complex was shuttered in January after city officials sued to close it down due to its untenable conditions.

Denver County Court spokesperson Carolyn Tyler confirmed the warrant is still active.

In April, Baumgarten sued the city of Aurora, arguing that he was being persecuted by officials because he practices Orthodox Judaism, Westword reported.

Baumgarten and a public relations firm that previously represented his company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

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Her release was confirmed by Medina’s husband, Pablo Acosta.

“To tell the truth, I feel very nervous, happy,” Acosta said in Spanish through a translator. “I can’t believe it, still, that this has happened.”

Medina won her asylum case in May. But because the federal government reserved the right to appeal on a single issue, she remained in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement through Monday.

She and her family first sought asylum in the United States in 2023, with Medina specifically saying that she feared domestic violence and threats made by her ex-partner in Honduras.

During the asylum process, Medina was picked up on Oct. 23 by ICE agents who arrived at Buckley’s entrance after she had approached to drop off a food delivery order. Medina said she had her work permit at the time.

A crowd of about two dozen people gathered at the ICE facility in May to call for her release.

Immigration-focused organizations that worked with both Medina and Acosta throughout the process are celebrating her release.

“It is a community win to have Carla free,” said Andrea Loya, the executive director of Casa de Paz. “She should not have missed all that time away from her kids. We are so happy to know that she will get to hug them tonight and put them to sleep.”

Jennifer Piper, the program director at the American Friends Service Committee, said, “The dedication of her husband, Pablo, and the support of community made a huge difference in her case.”

To her, “it vindicates what we’ve been saying all along,” Piper said. “So many do have life-threatening reasons why they (fled) their country of origin and that they trust us as a country to respect their human rights.”

Volunteers at the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker social justice organization, tallied at least eight people who were picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at the immigration court inside the Byron G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse downtown.

The increased presence of immigration officers is a tactic linked to a larger strategy by President Donald Trump’s administration to help carry out its proposed mass deportations of immigrants who are in the country illegally.

Those detainees included a toddler and a 6-year-old child, said AFSC Denver program director Jennifer Piper. But she was not sure how many people were detained in total, she added, because her organization was initially unaware that ICE entered and exited the building through its garage in unmarked vehicles with tinted windows.

She spoke to a crowd of more than 30 people on Thursday afternoon outside the courthouse during a news conference called by immigrant rights advocates to provide updates on the latest ICE activity. As passerby on lunch break walked along the sidewalk, attendees stood holding pro-immigrant signs, including one that read: “ICE out of our court now!”

ICE didn’t respond Thursday afternoon to a request to confirm how many people had been detained at the courthouse since late last week and to provide information on why they were picked up.

The Denver Post first reported about ICE arrests at Denver Immigration Court on May 30, after a family of three was detained by federal officers. According to Emily Brock, the deputy managing attorney at the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, the family’s removal case had been dismissed by the judge just before the three members’ detentions.

In Colorado, ICE officers are prohibited from making civil arrests in or around state courthouses. However, federal courts aren’t governed by that state law passed in 2020.

AFSC began its court watch on May 27, with volunteers stationed there throughout the day. Piper said they observed ICE agents in plainclothes on the third and eighth floors of the building. Three vans from the GEO Group — a private prison company in charge of the ICE facility in Aurora — were standing by.

Piper was unsure where those detainees were taken. She argued that none of the facilities in Colorado could accommodate migrant children.

“We don’t know where they are,” Piper said. “We don’t know where these migrant children are.”

She said her group also saw ICE officers attempt to detain six African immigrants, but a lawyer and organization volunteers were able to prevent their arrests. She noted that people represented by attorneys fared better during such enforcement actions because they had legal representation to advocate for them.

“All of the people that we witnessed being detained were people that don’t have a lawyer,” Piper said.

Immigration lawyer Hans Meyer said the extent of the agency’s enforcement activity remains unclear due to lack of communication.

But he confirmed that “ICE is conducting enforcement operations in state and local courthouses,” Meyer said at the news conference. “It is absolutely breaking state law in the process. There’s no question about that.”

He called for local elected officials, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, civil rights organizations and law firms to fight ICE enforcement at courthouses until the agency is in compliance with state laws.

Weiser’s office declined to comment.

As the voices of advocates talking during the news conference echoed through speakers, people on the street exhibited a range of reactions. One man walking by the gathering yelled, “God bless y’all.”

Later, a passing woman shouted, “Go home!”

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Around 40 people queued up to serve themselves helpings of Sudanese bread, lentil stew and beef samosas before taking their seats in front of their respective paper nameplates. Attendees wore suit jackets and button-down shirts, hijabs and keffiyehs, a type of Middle Eastern headdress.

They gathered to harness their experiences as immigrants and people of color, hone their political ambitions and consider vying for votes in future Colorado elections.

The training session was hosted by New American Leaders, a nonpartisan, national nonprofit focused on helping first- and second-generation immigrants — what it calls “new Americans” — run for political office. It’s part of a growing trend to incorporate more diverse perspectives into politics nationwide, shaping policies and advocating for communities.

The movement is seeing success in Colorado, with 13 of 22 new American candidates winning election last year. That included eight Democrats and three Republicans running for the state House of Representatives from countries as far away as Iran, Italy and the Palestinian territories.

Four candidates — two Democrats and two Republicans — also ran for the state Senate, with one from each party winning their primary races. One Democrat, Israeli-born Dafna Michaelson Jenet, won the general election.

And one of six new American candidates for Congress in Colorado — U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Lafayette, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Eritrea — won their elections, according to data from New American Leaders.

State Reps. Lorena García, D-Westminster, Ryan Gonzalez, R-Greeley, Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs, and Naquetta Ricks, D-Aurora, are among the first- or second-generation Americans elected or re-elected last year who are now serving at the Colorado State Capitol.

However, Colorado doesn’t rank among the top-performing states for new American candidates, said Shana Hardin, the organization’s director of research and data.

“There is a gap between the population in Colorado of naturalized citizens compared to their representation within (the) Colorado state legislature,” she said.

Last year, new American candidates ran for Congress in 37 states, with around 65% of first- and second-generation immigrants winning their state legislative races, according to findings by New American Leaders. The organization reports that, of those candidates, women won at a higher rate than men in the general election, at almost 57%.

“We’re seeing a lot of new Americans running for office, especially at the state legislative level,” Hardin said. “We know that state (legislature) usually works as a pipeline to other offices.”

In order to serve as president or in the U.S. Congress, candidates must be citizens. The same is true for roles at the state level in Colorado, including governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and state representative and senator.

‘Never thought I would be in politics’

Several current lawmakers utilized their training from New American Leaders to run their campaigns and, ultimately, win.

Velasco is the first Mexican-born legislator in Colorado. She’s currently serving her second term.

Born in Guanajuato next to a plastic factory, Velasco moved to the Vail area when she was 14. She recalls living in mobile home parks and earning money in the service industry to support her family.

“I grew up very poor in Mexico and had to make ends meet and help my family when we were here in the U.S.,” the Democrat representing Glenwood Springs said. “Never thought I would be in politics.”

During the pandemic, Velasco was part of a team providing language interpretation services at hospitals in the Roaring Fork Valley. Because they were considered contractors, Velasco said they weren’t provided with personal protective equipment, and she had to fight for their vaccine eligibility.

At the same time, Velasco noticed that the Latino community — which accounts for 30% of Garfield County’s population — made up the majority of the county’s COVID cases, at around 70%, she said.

“I just continued to see all these gaps and felt the urgency to run,” she said. “The local elected (officials) were not doing enough, and I felt like they’re going to let us die.”

Velasco listed several issues that are important to her: water quality in mobile home parks, language access in emergency alerts, protecting the environment, upholding constitutional rights for immigrants and boosting community resilience from climate change.

Statewide, voters “can relate to a lot of the experiences of new Americans: like, working really hard to make ends meet, caring for families, supporting community,” Velasco said. “Those are universal values of Colorado.”

Across the aisle in the Republican Party, Gonzalez is the son of Mexican immigrants. His mother, a permanent resident, hails from Guanajuato, and his father — now a U.S. citizen — is from Tijuana.

“I’m very proud of my heritage,” said Gonzalez, who now represents Greeley in the state House. “My parents came here for a better opportunity.”

Raised in the trailer parks of Fort Morgan, Gonzalez said he was the first in his family to graduate from high school and earn a college degree.

He was drawn into politics, identifying with Libertarian policies from early on. When Donald Trump was first elected, Gonzalez said, the president’s politics defied the status quo, which inspired him.

In the statehouse, he’s focused on addressing taxes, crime, education, energy, cost of living and the economy.

Gonzalez said he doesn’t like to play identity politics, though he’s faced flak for being a young politician and for being a Latino in the Republican Party.

“On the GOP side, there’s not a lot of diverse and proper reflection of representation of the people in Colorado, in my community,” he said. However, “I think the Republican Party is, in fact, a big tent party — we just don’t make a big deal about it.”

On Ricks’ end, she uses her platform as a Democratic lawmaker representing Aurora to advocate for education, economic equity, immigration, small businesses and consumer protections.

It took Ricks a few tries to secure her role as an elected official. After taking part in political training in 2013, she ran for the University of Colorado Board of Regents the following year and lost the race. Then, in 2017, Ricks placed third in her bid for the Aurora City Council.

Still, she said Trump’s rhetoric about migrants pushed her to keep trying.

“There were underserved voices that were not being heard,” Ricks said.

She won her seat in the statehouse in 2020.

Ricks migrated from Liberia after a bloody military coup took place in 1980. Her mother’s fiancé worked in the country’s government, and soldiers came to their home to find him, Ricks said. They interrogated her mother for hours at gunpoint, she said.

Once the militants located him, he was dragged out and later shot by a firing squad, Ricks said. She was 13 at the time.

Ricks and her mother fled to Chicago, then resettled in Colorado. She grew up in Aurora. There, Ricks said, at least one in every five people is either a first- or second-generation American.

“We have to show the value that immigrants bring to Colorado,” Ricks said.

Aspiring politicians and community activists

Jessica Delos Reyes, the communications director for New American Leaders, watched over attendees at the Aurora training session in March.

It was the nonprofit’s Ready to Lead program for the Southwest region, which educates immigrants, along with Black, Indigenous and other marginalized people, on how to utilize their unique experiences in civic leadership.

“It’s really to get people in the door and finding their leadership strength in their stories and their lived experiences,” Delos Reyes said.

Micaela Parker, 27, was among those present at the training program. She is already rising through the ranks of Denver’s political scene.

She serves as a senior adviser to Colorado Senate President James Coleman after working as his senior legislative aide. In February, Parker was also elected to fill the role of secretary for the Democratic Party of Denver.

“It’s important that it’s young and Black and Brown leaders leading us, especially in Denver,” said Parker, who identifies as Black and Afro-Latina.

She aspires to one day run for office in Denver.

Ana Barraza, 34, is an aspiring immigration attorney with her eye on future political endeavors.

She first moved to the U.S. from a rural community in Sonora, Mexico, in 2008. Barraza’s family tried to adjust to a new country and learn English. As migrants, “we faced discrimination, poverty and injustice,” she said. “But (my father) decided to have a better future for us.”

Barraza has worked as a migrant recruiter and advocate at the Colorado Department of Education’s Migrant Education Program, which serves immigrant children and their families, and as a newcomers coordinator at Denver’s Department of Housing Stability. Motivated by policy issues like immigration and health, Barraza — a Democrat — hopes to support migrants and the broader community in Denver through politics.

In the state legislature, “we can create those opportunities for the success of a lot of the immigrants,” she said. That’s why she wants to run for the state House in 2026.

However, not everyone at the New American Leaders training program was set on joining the ranks of elected officials. Instead, Rokhiya Ngom, 25, feels called to advocacy work and wants to serve as a liaison between her community and politicians.

Ngom considers herself politically unaffiliated. She voted for a third-party candidate in the November election.

“But I definitely want people who look like me to run,” she said.

Born in the U.S., Ngom — who is half-Moroccan and half-Senegalese — grew up in Morocco. Her family eventually moved to New York City. There, she learned about the country’s historic periods of slavery and apartheid, Ngom said. It helped spur her current mission to fight oppression in the U.S. and abroad.

About two years ago, Ngom decided to move to Denver because of its liberal leanings and its mountains — just like her North African homeland.

Locally, she’s focused on issues including community safety from police violence, homelessness, climate change, affordability and food access. Ngom said New American Leaders provided her with more tools to serve as an advocate.

“To me, what matters to community is community,” Ngom said.

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The latest data by the National Abortion Federation, the professional association of abortion providers, found that 65% of providers in Colorado reported trespassing at clinics in 2023 and 2024 — one of the highest percentages in the nation. More than half of the state’s providers, or 53%, reported anti-abortion protesters over that same timeframe.

Additionally, 24% of providers in Colorado reported incidents of obstruction over those two years, and 18% experienced threats.

The latest data compiled by the National Abortion Federation, the professional association of abortion providers, found that the 17 providers surveyed in Colorado reported 27 instances of trespassing at clinics in 2023 and 2024 — one of the highest percentages in the nation. That’s up from 17 instances among 14 comparable providers between 2020 and 2022.

Additionally, providers in Colorado reported 10 counts of vandalism (up from eight), eight incidents of obstruction (up from seven) and five threats of death or harm (up from three) over those two years.

Nationwide, the organization tracked 128,570 protesters, close to 800 incidents of obstruction, around 650 counts of trespassing, about 300 threats of harm and three incidents of arson at clinics in 2023 and 2024.

“Reports like these really emphasize why states like Colorado must take action on their own to ensure patients and providers are protected now that federal protection is not guaranteed,” said Karen Middleton, the president of reproductive rights organization Cobalt Advocates.

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022, Coloradans took steps to protect the right to abortion services statewide. Abortion is currently permitted at any stage of pregnancy in Colorado. During November’s election, the majority of voters — 61% — opted to enshrine access to abortion in the state’s constitution.

Since then, Gov. Jared Polis has signed several bills tied to abortion rights: one that will permit the use of public funding to cover the procedure, a second that will provide more protection for doctors and patients from out-of-state interference, and a third that makes sure patients can get abortions or miscarriage care during emergencies.

However, other states have moved to restrict abortion access, with a dozen currently enforcing total abortion bans, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research and policy organization.

The National Abortion Federation reports that more than 60 abortion facilities shuttered in 2023 and at least 11 closed the following year. In Colorado, the Boulder Abortion Clinic closed last month when its director, Dr. Warren Hern, retired.

The National Abortion Federation said the Midwest and the South are regions that have been especially impacted by closures.

“Many of the clinics that closed were located in hostile areas and reported high numbers of incidents, which also affects our overall numbers,” the association reports.

The National Abortion Federation used incident reports submitted by clinics that offer abortion services to put together its findings. But the association notes that the data doesn’t provide a full picture because some clinics don’t belong to the organization or don’t submit reports.

“As a result, the actual number of incidents is likely significantly higher than what is reflected here,” according to the National Abortion Federation.

In Colorado, 17 providers contributed information. The association doesn’t publicly list its members, but Colorado Newsline estimated that there were around 20 abortion providers statewide in 2022. That’s a stark drop from the number in 2011, with a total of 42 abortion providers, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

The National Abortion Federation has kept records of incidents since 1977. It did not record any murders, attempted murders, bombings, or kidnappings at abortion clinics in 2023 or 2024.

Comparatively, 11 murders, 26 attempted murders, 42 bombings and four kidnappings have taken place since the association first began collecting data.

Dr. Catherine Wheeler, the president of the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs‘ Colorado chapter, said some pro-life organizations have also faced problems like violence and arson since the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision by the Supreme Court, which overturned Roe vs. Wade.

“AAPLOG Colorado does not endorse ideologically driven violence from any side of the abortion debate, including the extensive violence against Pregnancy Resource Centers and prolife organizations since Dobbs, such as, in Colorado, the arson attack on Life Choices in Longmont, and vandalization at Heart to Heart Pregnancy Center in Cortez,” Wheeler said.

She defended some of the people characterized as protesters outside abortion clinics.

“Most people on the sidewalk outside abortion facilities are peaceful, law-abiding sidewalk advocates who authentically desire to provide alternatives, and important information and resources that women may not receive in the abortion facility,” Wheeler said. “In their compassion for women, most of these advocates are simply there to offer help and hope.”

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