Call Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper and your representative (e.g., Boebert, Evans or Neguse) and urge them to refuse to vote for any appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security that fails to rein in ICE. Let them know that we cannot wait around while ICE continues to engage in unchecked violence, impunity, and abuse against our communities. Tell them they must push for an appropriations bill that puts serious restrictions on ICE, ends its dragnet raids, and does not add a penny to its already bloated budget.

Background Information:

The Trump regime is terrorizing our communities with brutal immigration enforcement campaigns designed to test the limits of executive power and the nation’s willingness to stand up against Trump’s power grab. Masked federal agents are teargassing babies and pastors, kidnapping our neighbors and shipping them off to foreign torture prisons, and killing innocent people. This pattern of unchecked violence and abuse by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Border Patrol, and other federal law enforcement agencies must end.

Congress has the opportunity and the responsibility to rein in this lawlessness and stop funneling our taxpayer dollars toward these attacks on our families and our liberties. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) runs out on January 30 and is in active negotiations. Putting restrictions on ICE and cutting off its slush funds in the DHS funding bill is the bare minimum every Member of Congress should support.

But Congress won’t act unless we demand it. Congressman Maxwell Frost and the House Progressive Caucus, Senators like Chris Murphy and Alex Padilla, and a handful of other Democrats have drawn redlines for reining in ICE in the DHS bill and been vocal about rallying their colleagues to do the same, but Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are so far refusing to unify their caucuses to fight. This is unacceptable.

That is why we are asking you to call Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper and your Representative (e.g., Neguse, Boebert or Evans) and demand that they oppose any appropriations bill that includes increased funding for ICE or Border Patrol - and refuse to vote for any funding bill for Department of Homeland Security - unless it:

• Strengthens restrictions on ICE and Border Patrol’s ability to conduct dragnet arrest operations and target people based on their race, language or accent, place of employment, or location at the time of the apprehension;

• Ends Border Patrol deployment to our cities and rejects its ever-expanding mandate in immigration enforcement; and

• Limits DHS's reprogramming and transfer authority, including specifically preventing reprogramming and transferring funds for detention.

Governor Polis is considering clemency for Tina Peters. As a reminder, Tina Peters is the ex-Mesa County clerk who conspired with Mike Lindell (the "My Pillow" guy) to tamper with election data. In addition to her crimes, she assaulted a police officer attempting to serve a search warrant to obtain an iPad believed to have election data, cost the government $1.5 million in legal fees and lost employee time, and spurred death threats to several elected officials in Colorado. During her sentencing, the judge noted her lack of remorse and his belief that she would commit the crime again.

Attorney General Phil Weiser called the sentence "fair and just."  Tina Peters is eligible for parole in 2 years. Polis said “We always look at people’s sentences and when you have people that are elderly, and we’re looking at this across a number of people — people that are in their 70s and 80s in our system — how much of a threat to society are they? And we balance that in a way that makes sure that they can spend their last few years at home.”

We do not have a nice way of saying this - Polis is full of crap. This sudden worry about Peter's age comes after months of pressure from Trump to release another one of his felonous supporters. Polis is attempting to placate the bully thinking that he'll refund NREL, keep the space station in Colorado, release illegally withheld funds for day care and the water project in eastern Colorado. 

Our stance is this: if you commit the crime you can do the time. Tina Peters was not too old to defraud Colorado voters and attempt deprive to deprive us of our right to fair elections. She has yet to show remorse for her crimes and would do it again if given the chance. If we give in to Trump this time, it will only empower him to bully us more. 

So, call or write Governor Polis and let him know that you, as a Coloradan, do not want him to release Tina Peters. Here are some talking points:

• Tina Peters was not too old to commit the crime and she is not too old do do the time (in her cushy prison cell).

• Tina Peters has not shown any remorse for her crime.

• Tina Peters cost the state $1.5 million, assaulted police officers and spurred death threats against elected officials and their families.

• Giving in to Trump is not going to stop his assault on our state - it will only empower it.

• If he releases a white woman because of her age - is he going to release other people convicted of lesser crimes because of their age?

Governor Polis email: Governorpolis@state.co.us

Governor Polis phone: (303) 866-2471

Over the last few months, the Trump regime has orchestrated the bombings of small boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that it claims are trafficking drugs bound for the US. The administration has provided neither proof of drug trafficking nor any legal justification for these bombings, which have now killed over 80 people in total. 

On September 2, U.S. military killed two survivors of a bombing - clinging to wreckage - over an hour after the original bombing. Republican are making wild claims that the two survivors were sunbathing or trying to right the hull of a boat that had been blown to pieced to continue their journey to sell drugs in the U.S. 

If Congress does not put a check on this regime’s lawless violence, there is no telling where this will end. Hegseth could label anyone a legitimate target and order the military to carry out strikes without legal justification or even evidence of wrongdoing.

Contact Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper and tell them to demand an investigation. Senator Bennet is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and should be pressuring his colleagues. Senator Hickenlooper - who wants to be our Senator for a second term starting in 2026 - just needs to do something!

Contact Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and demand they publicly call for new Senate leadership. Senators Schumer and Durbin have failed to meet the moment. It is past time for a change. Let them know you are part of the IndivisibleNOCO community and will only support primary candidates who publicly call for a change in Senate Leadership.

More information:

The Senate vote to open the government was not just a disappointment - it was a surrender. Senate Democrats had the leverage, public support, and a clear mandate: protect healthcare, restore Medicaid funding, and stop Trump from looting the federal budget. Instead, they walked away with nothing. The final deal offered only a promise of a vote on ACA subsidies in 40 days - with no guarantee it will pass - and House Republicans have already said they will not take it up.

Adding insult to taxpayer-funded injuries, the deal also includes a provision that paves the way for the eight Republican senators whose phone logs were seized during former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, to sue the government for up to $500,000 apiece.

The vote appeared stage-managed, with eight Democrats, none facing reelection, voting yes. We do not know exactly what happened behind closed doors, but the outcome suggests a coordinated retreat (an rumor has it that Hickenlooper was involved in coordinating the retreat). What is clear is that Senate leadership failed to unify the caucus at a moment of maximum leverage and when it mattered most. The public was mobilized, Democrats were winning, and leadership threw the fight.

IndivisibleNOCO is indebted to Robert Hubbell for summarizing why we are so outraged at the Senate Democrats’ capitulation. We encourage the IndivisibleNOCO community to read his entire analysis of the capitulation, which included the following lessons learned:

• Trump learned that taking hostages works, even when doing so violates federal law.

• Trump learned that centrist Democrats are the weak link in the Senate and can be forced to fold simply by refusing to negotiate.

• Trump learned that he can continue to illegally withhold funds and raise illegal taxes without fear of restraint from Congress.

• Congressional Republicans learned that refusing to negotiate with Democrats is a wildly successful strategy.

• Grassroots activists and party faithful learned that their hard work in defending democracy is taken for granted by most of their elected representatives.

To the last point, IndivisibleNOCO says NO MORE! We have been working our hearts out for this country since 2016 and we are tired of the rug being ripped out from under our feet by our elected officials.

Colorado faces major elections in 2026, and the Democratic primary field is already crowded. IndivisibleNOCO is joining Indivisible National in supporting only primary candidates who fight, inspire, and call for new Senate leadership. If Democrats will not stand up to fascism, we will find new ones who will. And to be clear: we’ll support whoever wins the primary, because defeating the regime in November is non-negotiable. But building a party that fights and wins starts with demanding better from its leaders.

Keep chipping away at the financial resources propping up the authoritarian power grab - if you still use Comcast, switch to Connexion.

If you live in Fort Collins, you’ve got a better option than Comcast - Connexion, our community-owned internet and cable service. While Comcast is funding Trump’s destruction of the White House, Connexion is reinvesting in Fort Collins. Your dollars stay local, powering public services, providing jobs  and strengthening our economy.

Connexion provides fast and reliable internet service at a fraction of the cost of Comcast. And it provides customer service that actually serves you. Call Connexion and you will talk to a real person - someone who listens, solves problems, and goes the extra mile.

November SNAP benefits are canceled due to the Trump government shutdown. 

Did you know that SNAP is designed to keep feeding families even during government shutdowns—thanks to $6B in emergency reserves. But the Trump administration said it won’t use those funds. That’s right: the safety net is there, but the GOP is choosing to let people go hungry.

In few days, almost 36,000 Larimer County residents, including many federal workers who were laid off or are fuloughed, are going to experience food insecurity. Even without the shutdown, the new work requirements, changes to the states’ funding responsibility and changes to eligibility that were part of the GOP funding bill in July will likely lead to reduced SNAP benefits for about 60,000 Coloradans starting this year.

Now is a time for our community to come together and help each other weather the storm that this administration is unleashing upon the most vulnerable among us. If you are able, please consider a monthly or one-time contribution to the Larimer County Food Bank.  Other ways to contribute include donating food and non-food items or hosting a food drive. Information is available on the Food Bank’s website.