ICYMI: Hickenlooper Visits Mountain Communities, Talks Immigration, Drought, Wildfire, Economy, Healthcare, and More

WASHINGTON - In case you missed it, Senator John Hickenlooper hit the road this week, conducting an oversight visit at the Aurora ICE Detention Facility before heading into the mountains to visit Golden, Blackhawk, Georgetown, Frisco, Beaver Creek, Edwards, and Eagle.

On Monday, Hickenlooper conducted another oversight visit to ICE and GEO's Aurora Detention Facility, where there are reports of a dozen cases of the highly-contagious disease, Tuberculosis. During the visit, he demanded more cooperation from GEO with local and state public health officials.

Watch Senator Hickenlooper discuss his visit and the cost of Trump's immigration agenda

On Tuesday morning, he visited the Jefferson County Emergency Operations Headquarters in Golden. He toured the command center, which he secured millions in federal funding to help build, and hosted a discussion with emergency, wildfire, and U.S. Forest Service officials about wildfire mitigation. The group also discussed how innovative Colorado emergency service officials are in the face of a historic drought and devastating wildfire season as well as what resources they need moving forward.

The Senator then travelled to Blackhawk's Timberline Fire Station #3 to tour the newly expanded and renovated station, which Hickenlooper helped secure $900,000 for through Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS).

In a roundtable discussion with firefighters, local elected officials, and residents, he received an update on economic development challenges and successes in Clear Creek and Gilpin Counties. Hickenlooper then attended a Clear Creek and Gilpin Joint Board of County Commissioners meeting in Georgetown. The group discussed cuts to human services and other funding priorities for the two mountain counties.

Tuesday afternoon, Hickenlooper visited with Mountain Dreamers in Frisco to talk about the impacts of Trump's cruel immigration agenda on our communities. He heard stories about the terror families and businesses felt during ICE raids and about the death of a Summit County resident in ICE detention. Hickenlooper heard about the impact on small businesses; employees taken away, employees scared to come to work, businesses shuttering out of fear.

On Wednesday, Hickenlooper began the day sitting down with outdoor recreation leaders and local elected officials in Beaver Creek to talk about how climate change is driving drought and impacting the outdoor recreation economy in Colorado. Attendees detailed the downturn outdoor recreation in Colorado experienced this past year due to record-low snowpack, wildfires, and persistent drought.

Hickenlooper then went to Edwards to tour Vail Health's Edwards Community Health Campus and Precourt Healing Center, which received $2.8 million in CDS funding that Hickenlooper helped secure. After the tour, he sat down with Vail Health and regional healthcare leaders to discuss healthcare access. They discussed how the community is reeling in the face of the more than a trillion dollar cuts to our healthcare system from MAGA's One Big Ugly Betrayal Act.

In Eagle, Hickenlooper sat down with Latino small business leaders from across Colorado to talk about the cost-of-living emergency caused by Trump's reckless tariffs, illegal war with Iran, and healthcare cuts. Members of the roundtable highlighted workforce shortages as well as the disruption and fear caused by Trump's immigration agenda.

Hickenlooper came back down to Denver Thursday to tour the new United Flight Training Center in Denver, followed by a look at the expanded 700,000-square-foot campus. As governor, Hickenlooper ushered in United's $40 million investment in Colorado, with Denver serving as one of the airline's major hubs for travel and pilot training.

Check out what they're saying:

CPR: Public health investigation into tuberculosis at Aurora detention center at standstill as deadline looms

…Sen. John Hickenlooper, who visited the facility Monday morning, said he got no new information from anyone.

"We got to spend about 40 minutes talking to ICE officials and GEO employees, and really the answers they gave were: they can't give us any information on the advice of counsel," Hickenlooper said. "They've been discouraged both by lawyers for the CDC, which is inexplicable, but also by the GEO lawyers," he told reporters, after a roughly hour and a half tour.

…"They won't tell us how many people have been released in the community, where the follow-up testing, how that's being organized. You cannot do an investigation like this in a vacuum," Hickenlooper said.

Denver Post: Operators of Aurora immigration detention center ignore state health order, setting stage for potential court battle

…U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper visited the Aurora facility Monday and told reporters that Geo staff declined to discuss the tuberculosis situation on advice of their lawyers. He said they also would not indicate whether they intended to comply with the state health order.

"You cannot do an investigation like this in a vacuum," Hickenlooper said from the sidewalk outside of the facility. "…I'm shocked. I've never in my life seen a time where a direct order from the public health authority or a direct order from the state office of public health is ignored."

Colorado Sun: Hickenlooper denied answers on tuberculosis during visit to Aurora immigrant detention center

…U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper on Monday walked into the immigrant detention facility in Aurora with questions about the possible spread of tuberculosis within the facility. He walked out without answers.

Hickenlooper said whenever he asked a tuberculosis-related question - Who had been tested? What type of investigation had been conducted? Where are people who were exposed to the disease located now? - he was stonewalled.

"The answers they gave were, 'We're not going to release any information on the advice of counsel,'" Hickenlooper said, standing outside the facility following his visit.

…"I've never in my life seen a time where a direct order from the county public health authority or a direct order from the state office of public health is ignored," Hickenlooper said. "That they say, 'No, we're not required to do that and the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) is going to be OK with that.'"

Clear Creek Courant: Hickenlooper meets with Gilpin, Clear Creek county leaders

Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo. arrived at the Timberline Fire Station #3 in Gilpin County with a small entourage of staff to listen and answer questions and hear concerns from city and county officials.

…Idaho Springs Mayor Chuck Harmon told the Courant he couldn't agree more, and the bipartisan support Hickenlooper has commanded on the federal level is commendable because, "Fire is blind."

"He (Hickenlooper) knows wildfire doesn't care what your political stripe is," Harmon said.

"You're just as likely to be a victim of a fire whether you're a republican or a democrat," Harmon continued.

…A Path Forward

According to Congressional reports, senators Hickenlooper (D-CO) and John Curtis (R-UT), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced the Fix Our Forests Act.

The bipartisan legislation, according to congressional reports, is intended to address and effect "Catastrophic wildfires, restore forest ecosystems, and make federal forest management more efficient and responsive."

LISTEN:

CPR (Denver, CO): ICE Aurora Detention Facility Oversight Visit

KOA (Denver, CO): Jefferson County Emergency Operations Visit

KRDO (Colorado Springs, CO): Jefferson County Emergency Operations Visit

WATCH:

NBC (Colorado Springs, CO): United FTC Visit

FOX (Denver, CO): United FTC Visit

FOX (Colorado Springs, CO): ICE Aurora Detention Facility Oversight Visit

###