Mind Springs’ Board of Directors voted unanimously on Feb. 13 to stop pursuing a proposed contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after hearing ‘significant’ concerns from community members.

Many immigrant-run businesses were closed and some students and staff at local schools stayed home on Feb. 3 as part of the nationwide protest, "Un Día Sin Inmigrantes," calling attention to the social and economic role immigrants play in communities amidst President Trump’s immigration crackdowns.

Mind Springs Health is in discussions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about providing inpatient services at West Springs Hospital in Grand Junction for ICE detainees. Executive staff want to support those in need, but immigrant advocates worry the move could expand ICE’s presence in the region or sow distrust in its communities.

President-elect Donald Trump has promised he will be tough on immigration during his second term in office. Local schools worry immigration officials will start making arrests, performing searches, and conducting interviews with students on campuses.

Several nonprofits on the Western Slope of Colorado are preparing for mass deportations under a second Trump administration. “Know your rights” trainings, local government ordinances, and executive orders are part of the tapestry of defenses.

In 2023, Alan Muñoz helped launch the Civic Leader Education and Advocacy Program with Voces Unidas in Mexico City. Before this year’s program in May, Muñoz traveled to Mexico early to see his family in Calvillo Aguascalientes, many of whom he had never met. This is the final story in a three-part series documenting the journeys of DACA recipients in Mexico.

Before this summer, Miguel González, an apprentice electrician who grew up in the Colorado River Valley, only knew stereotypes of his home country. However, a travel permit that allowed him to fly internationally as a DACA recipient in May gave him a vision of real Mexico and helped him fulfill an application requirement for his green card. This is the second story in a three-part series documenting the journeys of DACA recipients in Mexico.

Luz Galaviz, a third grade teacher in Rifle, normally can’t travel abroad due to her immigration status. But after securing advance parole in May, she flew to Mexico City for a leadership conference with Glenwood Springs nonprofit Voces Unidas, despite concerns that she may not be allowed back into the U.S. This is the first story in a three-part series documenting the journeys of DACA recipients in Mexico and how the trips could change their lives in the Colorado River Valley.

Over half a million undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children are protected from deportation as DACA recipients. But with the November election getting closer, many DACA recipients are worried their ability to remain in the U.S. could run out.

Dozens of people gathered in El Jebel on Wednesday, May 1 to celebrate the groundbreaking of English In Action’s new tutoring center for immigrants. Students and tutors who attended the groundbreaking hope the new center will help foster cross-cultural community.