Since the election, my office’s voicemail and email inboxes have been bursting with questions from people around Colorado and the region who are scared about President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans.
Some come from immigrant parents asking about contingency plans for their children in case there’s a workplace raid. Others are from teachers seeking advice on what to do if no one shows up to pick up their students from school one day. The majority of inquiries stem from clients themselves, all of whom want to understand what the election results mean for their cases.
As the state’s largest immigration legal services nonprofit, we try to strategize and prepare. But there are still many unknowns. The incoming administration has promised to target the immigrant community of Aurora at the center of Trump’s election campaign, and we don’t know the extent of the sweep and whether he will deploy the military.
In the meantime, my colleagues and I refer back to our playbook from Trump’s previous administration: We’re recommending that people copy their important documents, memorize two phone numbers in case they need to make a call from custody and make sure they have a backup person to pick up their children from school in the event they are detained.
Here’s what I do know: Although Colorado is a state that has more basic protection than other states — there are certain restrictions on when local law enforcement can collaborate with Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), for example — our immigration lawyers will need support in their efforts to stand up for human rights.
We continue to defend those impacted by policies, such as the Muslim travel ban and family separation, from Trump’s first administration. We’re facing other challenges: Philanthropic dollars to pro-immigrant legal aid nonprofits are drying up, and we need funding. And attorneys in our field are burned out. New studies show the mental health toll on lawyers. I know many colleagues who have left the profession entirely.
Fortunately, there are several ways the public can help. We’re going to need all hands on deck as we prepare for the next wave of inhumane immigration policies.
Here are some actions you can take:
1. Offer “Know Your Rights” presentations. We need volunteers to give presentations in schools, libraries and community centers about what to do if people are picked up in ICE raids or immigration officials knock on their door. (The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition offers free trainings.)
2. Reassure people that under Colorado law they can still report crimes regardless of their immigration status. We don’t want to live in a society where people are scared to report domestic violence or human trafficking or seek emergency medical care. It’s a legitimate fear, but it’s also important to keep some perspective. According to the American Immigration Council, mass deportations will be incredibly difficult and expensive to carry out. We don’t want to jump to worst-case scenarios just yet.
3. We need legal volunteers to take on cases pro bono. We don’t know whether to expect sweeping law enforcement activities or changes in federal case law. But legal nonprofits will need litigators to file briefs and more volunteers to help people with asylum cases, among other things. Consider this alarming statistic: More than 84% of people in immigration proceedings in Colorado through October 2024 had little choice but to represent themselves in court, according to U.S. immigration court proceedings.
If you have time to donate, consider helping. Many legal nonprofits have training programs for people with no experience in immigration law. (My organization, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, offers continuing legal education led by the Colorado Bar Association and Colorado Lawyers Committee.)
4. Do you know another language besides English? We need volunteer interpreters and translators who can help us communicate with clients. Last year, RMIAN, the nonprofit where I work, provided services to people from 83 countries around the world. Lack of adequate language access is a huge problem for people navigating the U.S. immigration system, and you could help knock down communication barriers that often prevent people from getting the help that they need. (The Denver-based Spring Institute has training programs.)
It is in all our interests to step up and help where we can. Deporting millions of immigrants would create devastating ripple effects that would hurt families and Colorado for generations to come. Let’s all get involved to make a meaningful impact in someone’s life and bring our communities closer.
Laura Lunn, of Denver, is director of advocacy and litigation at Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network based in Westminster serving clients in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.
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