Category Archives: News

DENVER – Late last night, the Durango City Council approved a “sit-lie” ordinance that prohibits people from sitting or lying down on downtown sidewalks, curbs and other public areas. ACLU of Colorado Executive Director Nathan Woodliff-Stanley issued the following statement: “As cost of living has spiked across the state and affordable housing has dwindled, we have seen all sorts of attempts to criminalize homelessness and poverty. So-called “sit-lie” ordinances are among the most.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/immigrant-rights-are-civil-rights The Department of Justice has suspended funding for the Legal Orientation Program which provides essential legal information to people in immigration detention. Staff Attorney Arash Jahanian sits down with Mekela Goehring, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, to discuss the consequences of ending the program and the most important things immigration detainees and their families should.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/30-people-have-to-go Colorado’s largest newspaper, The Denver Post, recently announced it would cut a third of its newsroom staff. John sits down with Noelle Phillips a Denver Post reporter and Vice Chair of the Denver Newspaper Guild to talk about the recent layoffs, the role of journalism in holding our public officials accountable, Sinclair-owned TV stations, and “fake news.” Also, an update from Stephen on the Live and Let Live Bill. Call.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/live-from-lobby-day Last week the ACLU of Colorado hosted its annual Lobby Day. Over one hundred community lobbyists came out to defend civil liberties for all Coloradans. We interviewed several people and asked them what brought them to the Capitol. We also have an update from Staff Attorney Arash Jahanian on the class action lawsuit filed against El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder for illegally holding prisoners for ICE.  Call To Action: President.... | Read More

DENVER - The ACLU of Colorado announced a settlement this morning on behalf of Michael Bailey, who was jailed for 52 days awaiting his first appearance before a judge in 2015. Bailey was held in the Teller County Jail without bond on a 4-year-old misdemeanor warrant out of Pueblo County. When he was finally transferred and appeared before the Pueblo County Court, he was immediately released on a personal recognizance bond, and his charges were dismissed soon afterward. While in jail, Bailey lost.... | Read More

DENVER – State District Court Judge Eric Bentley has ordered El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder to immediately stop relying on ICE immigration detainers or ICE administrative warrants as grounds for refusing to release ACLU of Colorado plaintiffs from custody when they post bond, complete their sentences, or otherwise resolve their criminal cases. ACLU of Colorado filed a class action lawsuit on February 27 alleging that Sheriff Elder had unlawfully imprisoned dozens of individuals for days,.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/saveccrd A few weeks ago three Republicans on the Joint Budget Committee voted to block funding to the Colorado Civil Rights Division, which protects all Coloradans from discrimination in employment, housing and public spaces. Hundreds of Coloradans rallied in support of the CCRD. While the funding is likely secure, some members of the Senate are pushing to change its make-up and reduce or even end its enforcement power. Alejandra sits down with.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/bonus-pod-the-right-to-rest On this bonus pod, John talks with Terese Howard from Denver Homeless Out Loud and Trigg Bundgaard one of the founders of the Coalition for Compassion and Action about the Right to Rest Act, a bill that pushes back on the criminalization of homelessness in Colorado. The Purple State Report is brought to you by the ACLU of Colorado. Our show was produced by Vanessa Michel, John Krieger and Alejandra Garza with original theme.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/the-right-to-rest   On this episode, John sits down with State Representative Joe Salazar a sponsor of the Right to Rest Act, a bill that pushes back on the criminalization of homelessness. Also, Staff Attorney Arash Jahanian brings us the story of Audemio Orozco-Ramirez, an immigrant facing deportation, and others like him who are being targeted by Trump’s cruel deportation agenda. Read “ICE’s modern-day reign of terror”:  http://www.coloradoindependent.com/168497/guest-post-ices-modern-day-reign-of-terror Call.... | Read More

As Donald Trump read his State of the Union address, offering DACA recipients as a bargaining chip for his wall, along with stingier limits on legal immigration and funding for a more vicious immigration enforcement regime, a victim of that regime, Audemio Orozco-Ramirez, sat in the for-profit GEO detention facility in Aurora, Colorado, facing imminent deportation. Audemio has a wife and seven children in Vida, Montana, where he has worked as a ranch hand and lived for 20 years. Six of his children,.... | Read More