DENVER – Thousands of immigrants and supporters are expected to rally Monday, May Day, in Denver's Civic Center Park and later will hold a vigil outside a for-profit detention center run by the GEO Group in suburban Aurora .

They're hoping to draw attention to the role migrants play in the state's economy, and also send a message to the Trump administration.

Jeremy Bermudez, an organizer with the group Get REAL, says President Donald Trump's attempts to demonize some of the nation's most vulnerable communities is having real-world impacts.

"Because of the increase of the hate crimes in the LGBTQ community, as well as the immigrant community, as well as the continued police brutality cases that arise, we feel we have a moral responsibility to stand up and speak out," he states.

The Southern Poverty Law Center documented 867 bias-related incidents in the first 10 days after Trump was elected. Since taking office, Trump has pushed for building a wall and beefing up security on the U.S.-Mexico border, singled out crimes committed by immigrants, and – in a move recently blocked by a federal court – ordered federal money to be withheld from so-called sanctuary cities.

Monday's May Day event is one of more than 100 actions planned across the U.S.

The GEO Group is the second largest private prison operation in the U.S., and currently is facing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of 62,000 detainees who say they were threatened with solitary confinement if they refused to work for a dollar a day.

GEO denies the charges.

Pamela Resendiz, managing director of the Front Range Economic Strategy Center (FRESC) is attending Monday night's vigil because she maintains the conditions in the GEO Group's 1,500 bed facility in Aurora are inhumane.

"Regardless of the immigration status of any human being, they need to be treated with respect and dignity and should have access to legal resources, medical attention and nutritious food," she states.

Denver's immigrant community was rocked last week when Arturo Hernandez Garcia, an undocumented worker with no criminal record, was arrested and put into detention.

In 2015, Garcia spent nine months in a sanctuary church until Immigration and Customs Enforcement told him he was not a priority for deportation.





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As the dust settles from the 2024 election, immigrant New Yorkers fear how Donald Trump's second term will impact them.

Many still recall the separation of families during his first term, and fears they could be deported at any time.

Theo Oshiro, co-executive director of Make the Road New York, said those fears have returned since Trump is promising mass deportations of undocumented immigrants starting on day one.

"Not only are we talking about the threat of deportation, which is of course top of mind and the top fear of many of our people," said Oshiro, "but actual just physical violence on the street that really was something that had increased, in our experience, during the Trump administration."

He adds the organization held legal clinics during Trump's first term in office so immigrants could assign guardianship of their kids if they were suddenly deported.

This comes as a judge ruled the Biden administration's Keeping Families Together program is illegal, putting 20,000 New York families at risk of separation.

Trump's mass-deportation plan could cost up to $1.7 billion over a decade, and have vaster impacts than the Great Recession.

With Inauguration Day a few months away, Oshiro said he feels the state must enact common-sense protections for immigrants.

These range from health-care coverage for immigrants to whether local agencies collaborate with immigration enforcement agencies.

While there might be challenges to implement them, he said it's cost-effective to do so.

"In the example of health care, we know it's actually too expensive for our state to not care for immigrant communities," said Oshiro. "That actually impacts our state in negative ways. So we know that these common-sense solutions are the right thing to do but they're also fiscally responsible."

Estimates show New York State is planning to spend more than $4 billion between 2022 and 2026 in emergency spending on migrants. Current spending is estimated at around $690 million.

But, the New York City Comptroller's office estimates passing coverage for all will generate $710 million in annual benefits.




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New Mexico has a sizable immigrant community - making up 11% of the state's labor force.

But during contentious U.S. elections, they can suffer a sort of collective discrimination by those worried about migrant crime.

Jonathan Salazar, research and policy analyst with New Mexico Voices for Children, says almost 200,000 immigrants live in New Mexico.

And they're not just neighbors and workers, but often employ others to grow the state's economy by operating storefront shops.

"Particularly in New Mexico, so many of them are immigrant-owned," said Salazar, "and I think it's important to also discuss the vibrancy, the culture that so many immigrants contribute to the state and to people's daily lives."

It's illegal for non-citizens to vote in U.S. elections, but it's nonetheless a central topic of this year's election.

On Friday, two of Georgia's top election officials, both Republicans, called out a social media video purporting to show Haitian migrants voting as fake and an "obvious lie."

Polls in New Mexico are open tomorrow from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. - and in-person same-day registration is allowed.

New Mexico immigrants, primarily from Mexico, account for 31% of the state's college professors and more than 20% of restaurant cooks.

They also make up 15% of entrepreneurs and 22% of the state's construction workforce.

Salazar said many take jobs in the oil and gas industry - where younger workers will be critical to avoid labor shortages as older workers leave the work force.

"So many of them take harsh jobs, harsh conditions in our oil and gas companies which provides revenues for our state," said Salazar, "and that's money that goes into that funding for things like education."

New Mexico is the nation's second-largest crude oil-producing state, after Texas, contributing 14% of total U.S. crude oil production.

A study commissioned by New Mexico Voices for Children found immigrant workers and business owners generate $12 billion of the state's economic output.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump held a rally Sunday that his critics say reinforced a hateful tone felt by Puerto Ricans and foreign-born populations.

Those helping new Americans resettle in rural North Dakota hope politics don't interfere.

Trump's position on immigration often focuses on undocumented individuals and the southern border. But while in office, he also placed tighter caps on refugee admissions.

Derrick Gross is the executive director of Communities Acting Together for Change and Hope - CATCH ND - a new nonprofit that assists non-English speakers adapting to rural North Dakota towns after being approved for resettlement.

Despite the national tone, Gross said he sees more positive welcoming examples locally.

"One of the families had a couple of young kids," said Gross. "They didn't have their driver's license yet so they needed a stroller and wagon so they could walk to the store and get groceries and supplies. Neighbors provided those things for them when put out a request on Facebook."

But if a resident in one of these communities is swayed by misinformation on the campaign trail, Gross urges them to learn about key programs while sharing their concerns.

As for the rally, the Trump campaign tried to distance itself from vulgar comments made by speakers who took to the podium ahead of the former president, saying they didn't reflect Trump's views.

This year, a study came out showing that undocumented immigrants paid nearly $100 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022 - even as they are often barred from accessing social service programs.

For his group's part in working with refugees, Gross said it's important to understand they're trying to help rural communities - struggling with population loss - thrive.

"We're not looking to create sanctuary cities," said Gross. "We're looking to create situations where people who are coming here legitimately and legally - who want to be here - have an opportunity to be settled in a welcoming place."

Gross said these are people with a path to citizenship who can take jobs rural businesses are struggling to fill.

He said CATCH ND differs from traditional, larger resettlement efforts by focusing on smaller towns, where making local connections might foster a community-wide response in providing help.

The American Immigration Council says roughly 5% of North Dakota's population was born in another country - more than double the number reported 25 years ago.




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