The costs of immigration vs. the costs of deportation
Re: “Denver’s mayor was wrong to threaten armed conflict to protect immigrants,” Dec. 1 editorial
I see you finally addressed your mayor’s comments on sending Denver police and “Highlands moms” to oppose removing illegal migrants from Denver. You, of course, give him a pass because he has always supported Dreamers, and he is a Democrat. I see no mention of facts being reported nationally about Denver’s sanctuary city status. Such as, total cost to take care of these migrants is more than $350 million [Common Sense Institute]. A whopping $7,900 per migrant. Do you fear that honest reporting about Denver’s migrant crisis might change residents’ minds about being a sanctuary city?
Jack Inderwish, Aurora
There are many good points in the editorial. One nitpick: It is a bad idea to deport a rapist allowing him to recross our border and inflict more mayhem. It’s better to keep him in a secure American prison.
Joel Judd, Denver
You can’t have a convicted felon as a president and expect citizens (or anyone else) to obey any laws. Lead by being an example of the laws rather than being an exception to them or get out of leadership. The majority of Americans made it clear that justice, law and order, and ethics are no longer values in our country. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Mayor Mike Johnston is correct.
Leti Calderon, Aurora
How did we get into this mess where we, the citizens, have spent $90 million on immigrants who have gotten into our country illegally? I did not invite them, so I guess it is time to say once and for all that President Joe Biden and his crew sent out the welcome invitation.
Now, it is President-elect Donald Trump who is going to straighten this mess out, and our state should fully cooperate with all efforts of the federal government. Supporters of keeping the immigrants here say that avocados will be more expensive as there will not be workers to pick them, well I am willing to suffer and pay more as the flip side is Denver Health might not be begging for more money as they are going broke providing free health care to undocumented folks.
We need borders, or we are not a country; why is this such a hard concept to understand?
Joanie Jones, Denver
Related Articles
Tren de Aragua members wanted by Aurora police arrested in New York, feds say
Surveillance tech advances by Biden could aid in Trump’s promised crackdown on immigration
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston sets off firestorm with vows to resist Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans
Councilwoman, city leaders clash as questions over “Operation Aurora” deportation plan persist
J. Marcos Peterson: I am a Mexican American who voted for Donald Trump. No, I don’t hate myself.
I am not quite sure why everyone is so up in arms and “bracing” for President-elect Donald Trump’s promise of “mass deportations.” If you remember, from 2015-16 he also promised to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. He promised to repeal and replace Obamacare. He also promised to shore up the oil, gas and coal industries so that no one would lose their jobs. As we now know, he failed at all three, and there are more.
Trump is famous for promising many things and delivering few. Even his so-called “border bulldog” has publicly stated it all depends on funding (surely in the billions of dollars) and sheer manpower, that is, ICE agents, local and federal law enforcement and the military. Maybe he has a “concept” of a plan! I highly doubt it.
Scott Underwood, Aurora
Continued care for Lilly Downs
Re: “Educating TikTok about chronic illness,” Dec. 1 news story
Thank you, Denver Post and Lilly Downs, for the follow-up article regarding Lilly’s health. I had been sending Lilly light and love for years. Having no updated news, I assumed the best and stopped. Now that I know she’s recovering but still challenged, I’ll begin again.
Best wishes for Lilly’s continued improvement and success in her studies. A good news story about a positive young woman, a mistress of her destiny!
Mariann Storck, Wheat Ridge
Let’s cut the Xcel rate hikes
Re: “The more Xcel builds, the more we pay; it doesn’t have to be this way,” Nov. 30 commentary
The opinion piece by K.K. DuVivier accurately describes the problem with Xcel Energy. Every time Xcel requests a rate increase (“pancaking” method of requesting rate increases alternating years for electric then gas), I leave comments at the Public Utility Commission’s comment website. My comments always include Xcel’s profits. For example, did you know Xcel’s net profits grew from $660 million in 2021 to $727 million in 2022?
Xcel Energy’s profits rise sharply while we, the consumers, pay more annually to cover new power-generating facilities as well as pay off poorly planned old infrastructure.
Aren’t corporate profits reinvested primarily in the corporation, making it larger and more efficient? However, in the case of Xcel Energy, it appears profits are primarily paid to shareholders instead of being reinvested. Of course, dividends are paid as a reward for those who invest in corporations. Otherwise, why invest? But, $727 million profit in 2022 alone, yet consumers pay more for utilities to cover reinvestment costs year after year?
Excessive dividends (as opposed to reasonable) adversely affect the customers year after year. Our only recourse is to leave a comment on PUC’s website and hope the commission will be swayed by our words. As DuVivier wrote, it is time our legislature changed the old exclusive monopoly franchise laws and allowed more of a free-market structure. New legislation is more likely to make the cost of energy more fair and affordable for consumers.
Mariann Storck, Wheat Ridge
“It’s a Wonderful Life” … Or, is it?
I agree wholeheartedly with K.K. DuVivier’s commentary. Duvivier (DU Chair in Natural Resources Law) is spot on regarding Xcel Energy being a “regulated monopoly” in its exclusive territories and has its “buddy,” the PUC, in its coat linings.
Just like in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” greed takes center stage. Mr. Potter wants all the money he can get his hands on, with no scruples.
It has sickened me to watch the PUC approve the majority of all the rate hikes proposed by Xcel Energy in the past decades — raising rate hikes when the majority of struggling citizens couldn’t make ends meet and were worried about feeding and caring for their families.
Where’s the morality of the PUC when approving Xcel’s back-to-back enormous (pancaked) rate hikes? As DuVivier points out, most of its customers’ money has been spent on poor decisions and higher shareholder profits.
We are “captive customers.” Xcel Energy is a monopoly, and the PUC needs to put a stop to these rate hike practices.
Lynn Josef, Denver
Lawmakers need to intervene more in physician shortage
Re: “Colorado has big shortage of workers in health care,” Dec. 3 news story
The article leaves out one important aspect of finding a solution, namely increasing physician residencies. You mentioned that Colorado’s new medical school will open in 2026, which means it will not graduate a class until 2030. After a student finishes medical school, they do a three- or four-year residency. This past year several thousand qualified medical school graduates did not get resident positions. The number was capped in the 1997 Balanced Budget Act.
Colorado needs an immediate solution to avoid a critical shortage of physicians. The sensible approach would be to fund 75 additional residencies in 2026 to replace retiring Baby Boomer physicians, then ramp up the number of residencies by 2030 to accommodate graduates of the new medical school. The state of Florida just did that by passing a bill to fund residencies in their state.
In speaking with a retired hospital administrator, he felt that mid-sized hospitals would be willing to take on residencies if a state-wide hospital consortium is established to manage residencies. Otherwise, mid-sized hospitals would be overburdened with managing residencies and less receptive to a residency program.
Thomas Hallquist, Oshkosh, Wis.
Can we move past division and find community?
Re: “Americans agree more than they might think − it’s crucial to understand this,” Nov. 28 commentary
Lawrence Torcello is so right about the perception of political division, and yet he leaves out so much. It’s true Americans don’t often realize how many values we share because we have become more socially disconnected. (Anyone else remember the book “Bowling Alone”?)
What Torcello misses is that division didn’t just happen by itself. Much of it is manufactured. Media and social media decision-makers flood our eyes and ears with attention-getting and emotion-driven material, which both increases their profits and (by keeping us divided) prevents us from holding them accountable.
Social disconnection is made worse by concentrated corporate ownership. Because so few hold so much power over both wages paid and rents or prices charged, more Americans are having to work longer for less to live on and aren’t able to join civic groups or sports clubs to build social bonds.
We didn’t get here overnight. We can help get out, not just by joining groups and clubs but also by using our phones less for scrolling and more for telling our officials to support civic life and affordable living. We can help by supporting the unions that keep checks and balances on the corporate world. We can rebuild the connections and enjoy the blessings of liberty together.
Barbara Niederhoff, Aurora
The article was refreshing to read. When it comes to basic freedom, there is a lot to agree upon. We also agree that we do not like to be lied to. This past presidential election season was the most dishonest in decades, and it continues with excuses and misrepresentations of past events. We can handle the truth, but apparently some of the media and politicians cannot. I think we would all agree that we would like to see honesty restored to the media and our political parties as a refreshing holiday gift to the public.
William F. Hineser, Arvada
Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns, editorials and more.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.