Despite the rollback of federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs and concerns over increased immigration enforcement, families, students and other volunteers showed up to celebrate Latino cultural heritage, public lands, and outdoor stewardship during Latino Conservation Week, Sept. 13-21.

A 24-year-old law student from North Macedonia who worked as a restaurant server at Aspen Meadows Resort last summer as part of the J-1 visa program has received about $17,000 in unpaid tips, wages and penalty fees from her former employer after filing a state wage complaint last year. The Colorado labor department confirmed it’s still investigating a second wage complaint, and closed another unequal pay claim due to understaffing and other factors.

Dozens of people showed up last week in Glenwood Springs to celebrate the $23 million Benedict Apartments for adults older than 55. Catholic Charities is behind the new building named for late Aspen philanthropists Fritz and Fabi Benedict, who donated about $2.1 million in affordable housing funds to the nonprofit in the 1990s.

With two Roaring Fork Valley mobile home parks under contract, partners are moving through a 45-day due diligence period for inspections. Aspen-Basalt and Mountain Valley mobile home parks have raised approximately $14 million toward their $20 million goal for the collective $42 million asking price.

The Trump administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have claimed federal immigration crackdowns are targeting dangerous criminals, but this year’s ICE arrest data for the Rocky Mountain region indicates otherwise. Reporters from The Colorado Sun shared their findings Wednesday after publishing an analysis of regional data in July.

A group of Indigenous youths became some of the first in over a century to kayak the full length of the Klamath River along the California-Oregon border on July 11 after the nation’s largest dam-removal project was completed last fall. The young tribal members spent years preparing for the monthlong descent with the help of nonprofit Ríos to Rivers, which was founded by Aspen resident Weston Boyles.

As a growing number of investors buy up mobile home parks, residents can face displacement due to redevelopment and rising rents. In response, state and local governments have passed legislation and policies in recent years aimed at protecting residents from being evicted or priced out, and some advocates want lawmakers and other stakeholders to do more to preserve one of the largest sources of affordable housing in Colorado.

This comes amid Trump administration cuts to special services on the 988 hotline.

As protests against federal immigration crackdowns spread across the country this week, local residents were participating in a community discussion about how to support immigrant communities in Aspen on Tuesday. Protesters in Glenwood Springs on Wednesday also spoke out against an increase in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests.

Immigration attorneys in the Roaring Fork Valley are spreading awareness about a recent rise in scams and extortion targeting immigrants. An increase in federal immigration enforcement under the Trump administration this year has resulted in heightened fear and insecurity for many immigrants, which can make people more vulnerable to scams.