DENVER — The City of Denver will send one of its employees to El Paso, Texas, in the coming days to meet with immigrants and inform them of the new immigration strategy.
Victoria Aguilar, public information officer for Denver Human Services, will leave for El Paso on Saturday.
The city’s immigration strategy has shifted in recent weeks. Instead of focusing on helping all immigrants who arrive, the city is managing expectations.
“We want people to know what the new plan is. We don’t want them to think that it is the old plan,” said Jon Ewing, a spokesperson for Denver Human Services. “We know that often things are miscommunicated to folks before they ever arrive in Denver. We also know there’s a large number of people who arrive in Denver knowing nothing about Denver, having never intended to come to Denver.”
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The city is limiting shelter stays to no more than 72 hours as it focuses on helping people through its Asylum Seekers Program.
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Aguilar will spend about a month in El Paso. She wasn’t available for an interview on Thursday but Ewing, who is one of her colleagues, said Aguilar will meet with immigrants as well as nonprofit leaders while in Texas.
“What we wanted to do is go down there, have a conversation with folks on the ground in El Paso, and say, “What are people being told? What are they hearing before they even arrive in this country?” And see where the disconnect lies,” Ewing said.
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Even though immigrants have put a strain on the city’s budget, Ewing said Aguilar’s visit to El Paso is not necessarily meant to discourage immigrants from coming to Denver. But it’s not meant to encourage them to come either.
“We don’t want to encourage people to come here and think that they’re getting six weeks of travel or six weeks of stay, that’s for sure,” Ewing said. “But no, it is not a means of discouraging people.”
Sarah Plastino, director of Denver’s Newcomer Program, said Aguilar will also meet with government officials in El Paso.
“She is a native Spanish speaker. She will be working on the ground with stakeholders, newcomers and government officials in El Paso to coordinate and inform people of our policy change and develop stronger relationships with people on the ground,” Plastino said.
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Ewing said Aguilar made a short visit to El Paso after Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced the city’s new strategy earlier this month. Plastino said Aguilar has been provided with a desk in the migrant reception center in El Paso. Information about Denver’s new strategy is posted in the reception center and throughout bus terminals.
“We want those folks to have accurate information so that they can make the best decisions for themselves,” said Plastino.
Aguilar will leave for El Paso on Saturday.
Since December 2022, Denver has spent nearly $70 million providing support to over 41,000 new immigrants.
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A police officer, a suspect, and two gas station clerks have been injured in a police shooting on Monday night, according to the Denver Police Department.
Few details were immediately available, but the department posted about the shooting on social media just before 9:45 p.m. that the shooting happened in the 3200 Block of South Parker Road, near Interstate 225 by the border with Aurora.
At 10:25 p.m., the department provided an update, saying officers responded to reports of an armed robbery at a gas station. Officers shot the suspect, who was taken to a hospital in critical condition, and one officer was shot, sustaining non-life-threatening injuries. Two store clerks were also shot and sustained non-life-threatening injuries, the department said.
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Denver police cars were seen outside Denver Health the night of Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, after the Denver Police Department said an officer and a suspect were injured in a shooting near South Parker Road and Interstate 225.
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There was a large police presence at Denver Health, following the shooting, with patrol cars outside the emergency room with lights flashing.
Denver Nuggets (1-1, ninth in the Western Conference) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (2-1, fifth in the Western Conference)
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Minneapolis; Monday, 9:30 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Nuggets -4.5; over/under is 228.5
BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota hosts Denver in a matchup of Western Conference teams.
Minnesota went 49-33 overall, 33-19 in Western Conference games and 25-16 at home during the 2024-25 season. The Timberwolves averaged 8.0 steals, 5.0 blocks and 13.7 turnovers per game last season.
Denver finished 50-32 overall and 8-8 in Northwest Division action during the 2024-25 season. The Nuggets averaged 17.0 points off of turnovers, 14.4 second-chance points and 26.4 bench points last season.
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INJURIES: Timberwolves: Rob Dillingham: day to day (nasal).
Nuggets: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Santiago Bayley remembers a time when he wasn’t sure if he would make it to adulthood — a time when he wasn’t sure if he wanted to live that long.
The Denver Post Season To Share is the annual holiday fundraising campaign for The Denver Post and The Denver Post Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Grants are awarded to local nonprofit agencies that provide life-changing programs to help low-income children, families and individuals move out of poverty toward stabilization and self-sufficiency. Visit seasontoshare.com to learn more or to donate now.
Now 19 years old, Bayley is one of hundreds of metro Denver teenagers who benefit every year from Denver Health’s Substance Abuse Treatment, Education and Prevention program, known as STEP.
STEP therapists and psychiatrists work with young people at the uniquely challenging intersection of mental health and substance use struggles, medical director Mario Lintz said.
Teens often come to STEP through school referrals or their parents seeking help, or because they were seen in the emergency room or referred through a diversion program for juveniles in the court system.
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Like many program graduates, Bayley found it during one of the lowest points of his life. He attempted suicide by overdose when he was a sophomore in high school and was treated at Denver Health, where he connected with a doctor who told him about STEP.
The swirl of developmental changes that happen in adolescence already makes it a prime time for teens to develop anxiety and negative thinking, Lintz said. Those changes, added to teens’ inclination to take risks while they’re trying to figure out who they are, can be a volatile combination.
“With kids who have a traumatic past, substance use becomes something they use regularly to deal with those things,” Lintz said.
And it might make them feel better at first, until they start experiencing withdrawal symptoms and worsening side effects, and are now struggling with a substance use disorder along with an untreated mental health disorder.
To make it even more challenging, it’s hard to find a provider who will treat both, whether in Colorado or across the country, Lintz added.
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“As much overlap as there is between substance use and mental health disorders, they’re often viewed separately, and there’s not a lot of providers who feel comfortable treating both. It can make the picture unclear, from a mental health standpoint, of what’s going on,” he said.
STEP fills that need with ongoing therapy, medication management and an intensive, eight-week outpatient program for teens and their families.
The program also goes the extra mile to remove barriers that often prevent people from accessing care.
Alaina Walker, 18, during a session with a STEP clinician at Denver Health on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. Denver Health’s STEP program provides young people with free mental health and substance use treatment. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Mosier/Denver Health)
STEP isn’t just in one location — providers meet with their patients at the Bannock Street offices as well as at 11 Denver-area high schools. The program pays for transportation for about 40 young people to get to appointments every week. And there are always plenty of snacks and beverages on hand for those who need them.
Five years after he first started STEP, Bayley is now working toward an associate’s degree in business with the goal of completing a bachelor’s in marketing and becoming a marketing or brand director. He plans to move to New York City this summer to further his career goals.
It’s a dramatic difference from where he was, Bayley said — from wanting to give up to loving himself and feeling comfortable in his skin.
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“I was a 13-year-old who smoked weed all day and thought college was stupid,” Bayley said. “Now I’m going to college. I care more about my life. Before I was fine dying before 18, and now I’m 19 and I want to live.”
Denver Health STEP program
Address: 660 Bannock St., Denver, CO 80204
In operation since: 2003
Number of employees: 10
Number of volunteers: 0
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Annual budget: $1,178,147
Number of clients served: 5,310 total visits in 2024
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