My story begins in Chihuahua, Mexico. I was fortunate enough to be born to parents who had the courage to leave one land behind in search of a home where safety, opportunity and freedom could be found. That story is not unlike the millions of immigrant Americans who accepted the challenge of migration to seek […]
DACA
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Colorado’s Dreamers just celebrated DACA’s 9th anniversary. Now it’s up to Congress to keep the dream alive.
Marking the ninth anniversary of the creation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that has given hundreds of thousands of young immigrants the chance to pursue their dreams in the United States, June 15 was a day of pride and reflection on the immense value of Dreamers in the United States. However, […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Colorado needs an immigrant legal defense fund so no one has to go to court alone
Sole breadwinners and primary caretakers whose lives are rooted in Colorado, arrested on their way to work without an official order of deportation. Individuals targeted as criminals because of prior charges, not convictions. Entire families, dehumanized and treated like animals during Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests and while in custody. As a hotline coordinator, these […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
The 25 most-read Colorado Sun guest opinion pieces of 2020
Colorado Sun readers had a lot on their minds in 2020 — and it’s not surprising that COVID-19 was a dominant topic for those who contributed our guest opinion columns. As we tallied which of our opinion pieces attracted the most readers across the year, which are listed below, we found that a high percentage […]
Posted inCOVID, News, Politics and Government
Supreme Court seems skeptical of Trump’s plan to exclude noncitizens from the census
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court sounded skeptical Monday that President Donald Trump could categorically exclude people living in the country illegally from the population count used to allot seats among the states in the House of Representatives. But it also appeared possible that the justices could avoid a final ruling on the issue until they […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Congress must pass Dream and Promise Act to protect immigrants
There are 14,520 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients in Colorado alone, which does not even cover the young immigrants who were unable to receive DACA this year for a variety of reasons. Undocumented youth make up an integral part of our Colorado communities. Due to the inconsistency and uncertainty of the DACA program, […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: DACA is good for business, good for our community and good for our country
This summer’s decision by the Supreme Court to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and reject the Trump Administration’s 2017 attempt to rescind the program was a victory for Americans across the country. Not only was it a monumental day for our nation’s nearly 700,000 DACA recipients who earned a respite from […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Coloradans are proud to support the fight for the rule of law
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a number of historic decisions, including legal protections for gay and transgender workers and the continued authorization of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which grants temporary legal status to people who arrived in the United States illegally as children. These decisions come despite opposition […]
Posted inColoradans, News, Politics and Government
Supreme Court ruling on DACA brings more time, but no less uncertainty for Coloradans
As of the end of last year, Colorado was home to 14,640 DACA recipients. They have always known their freedom runs on a clock. Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Trump administration cannot summarily shut down the program does not change the precariousness of their legal status in this country, but it buys more […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
“This sort of weird torture is over”: Colorado DACA recipients on their hopes, fears after Supreme Court ruling
The last few years have been harrowing for the estimated 14,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients in Colorado. They’ve watched as their protections from deportation wound through the federal court system and became a political football in Congress. They’ve held their breath waiting for answers about their future and whether or not they’d be […]