In places like the Western Slope, immigration arrests are quietly increasing, usually with little media attention. The expansion of license plate readers is helping. Automated License Plate Reader technology allows police agencies, cities and private companies to set up cameras and automatically track passing cars, logging every license plate in a database. These camera systems claim to help law enforcement identify stolen vehicles, but they can also show where someone has be

For many of us on Colorado’s Western Slope, the struggle for farmworker dignity is deeply personal. My father was a farmworker when he first moved to this country, working as an undocumented laborer in the orchards around Hotchkiss and Delta in the 1970s. He worked in the fields of California as well, where I was born, not very far from the birthplace of America’s farmworkers movement. So when I see Colorado’s state legislature advancing a bill that undermines the dignity of

The Supreme Court heard arguments this week on whether a president can deny citizenship to children born in the United States based on their parents’ immigration status. The case centers on a Trump executive order that attempts to narrow who qualifies as American at birth. The Constitution is clear. The 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to people born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction. That has been settled law for more than a century. This challenge is

The mountains sell a story of clean air, fresh powder, luxury, and escape. Visitors come for the views, the skiing, the village lights, the Michelin-star meals, and the postcard version of Colorado.  Ski resorts like Aspen, Snowmass, Vail, Breckenridge, Steamboat, Telluride, Winter Park, Copper Mountain, and others across Colorado all benefit from that image. What most visitors do not see are the workers holding it all together. The rooms do not clean themselves. The dishes d

On Tuesday, Voces Unidas testified before the Colorado House Judiciary Committee on two immigration bills, one day after 300 people came to the Capitol on Monday for Latino/a Advocacy Day to lobby lawmakers in support of those same measures. The two bills ended with the same vote count, but very different outcomes. HB26-1275 failed in committee on a 6-5 vote. HB26-1276 was amended and passed on a 6-5 vote. We are deeply disappointed that HB26-1275 failed. At a time when trust

More than 300 Coloradans concluded the 20th Annual Latino/a Advocacy Day on Monday with a rally at the State Capitol to urge lawmakers to pass legislation that will improve the lives of Latinas and Latinos throughout the state. “The 20th anniversary of Latino Advocacy Day marks two decades of transformative growth in Latino political power and the advancement of equitable policies in Colorado,” said Dusti Gurule, President and CEO of Colorado Organization for Latina Opportuni

Sunday at Latino Advocacy Day 2026 was about preparation, but it was also about political accountability. Participants gathered for town halls with Michael Bennet and Phil Weiser, along with advocacy training and lobby group planning ahead of Monday at the Capitol. It gave Latinos from across Colorado the chance to hear directly from the top two candidates running in the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Jared Polis and to press them on the issues shaping Latino communities.

The first day of Latino Advocacy Day brought more than 300 people together from across Colorado, including 100 youth, for the start of a three-day effort leading up to Monday’s formal day of action at the Capitol. Participants spent the day grounding themselves in the Colorado Latino Agenda and moving through issue briefings focused on housing justice, community safety, worker protections, environmental justice, and affordable healthcare. In the housing sessions, people dug i

Today, Voces Unidas joined coalition partners, impacted workers, and lawmakers on the West Steps of the Colorado State Capitol to announce a new bill to protect workers from dangerous extreme heat and cold on the job. More than 20 impacted workers stood alongside advocates and legislative sponsors to mark the public start of this effort and to make clear that Colorado cannot keep treating extreme temperatures at work like they are normal. It was the start of a statewide push

In the Western Slope, you can feel it when someone disappears. A spouse doesn’t come home. A parent doesn’t show up for pickup. A coworker never makes it to work. And suddenly everyone has questions: can we still open for lunch, are we next, who can help, who knows what happened. People also talk about what they’re seeing on the road during their morning commute: masked, armed men in unmarked cars. Stops that don’t feel like real traffic stops. Windows broken. People dragged

In a mountain town, a snow day feels familiar. The snow stacks up fast, the roads turn into a hazard, and temperatures drop. Schools announce a late-start. Tourists sleep in. Employers tell office staff to work from home. In places like Aspen, Snowmass, Vail, and Breckenridge, the resort economy doesn’t pause—it just expects the town to be ready. Safety becomes a “shared decision”—for the people who get to stay inside. But for many Latino workers, a snow day starts before daw

Drive I-70 from Summit County over Vail Pass, through Eagle and Garfield counties, past Glenwood Springs and Rifle, and into Mesa County and Grand Junction. It feels like one continuous stretch of highway. But along that drive, different jurisdictions are using license plate reader cameras that track vehicles as they pass. And it’s not just towns along I-70. Across the Western Slope, communities are installing or debating these systems. Glenwood Springs operates license plate

Today, Voces Unidas testified in strong support of HB26-1145 , a bill to strengthen Colorado’s mobile home park water quality program. HB26-1145 builds on HB23-1257, the 2023 law Voces Unidas helped pass that created Colorado’s first statewide program to test drinking water in mobile home parks and require a consistent process to collect results and act on them. For years, residents have raised concerns with their local elected leaders. Families have brought rust-colored wate

The U.S. Senate refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security last week, and we support that decision. Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper stood their ground and voted the right way, just before the Friday midnight funding deadline. As an organization, we are clear on our position. Not another dime for ICE. Not now. Not later. Even during this partial shutdown, ICE has not slowed down. We have confirmed the first ICE arrest in Eagle County during this partial shutdown. Tha

As our community is aware, last month in Eagle County, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained nine Latino community members during a series of fake traffic stops. A tenth person was detained as he was walking to a bus stop. After the detentions, family members discovered ace of spades cards — commonly known as “death cards” — left inside at least two abandoned vehicles. “We are outraged by how ICE carried out these detentions in Eagle County,” said Alex Sán

Immigrant families across Colorado’s Western Slope are facing a disturbing rise in immigration enforcement activity, including fake traffic stops, racial profiling, intimidation tactics, and detentions carried out without judicial warrants. Because Voces Unidas also provides emergency immigration legal aid in rural communities, these trends are not abstract. Families contact Voces Unidas when a loved one is detained, when a worker disappears on the way to a job site, or when

As a Mexican-American who oversees an immigrant-led civil rights organization in rural Colorado, I see every day the impact of foreign policy in our communities. Much of our work is done for those who are here because of instability that the United States has helped exacerbate. So I will state this plainly from a position of experience: A unilateral U.S. invasion and occupation of Venezuela is reckless, illegal under international law and guaranteed to intensify human sufferi

We knew 2025 would be difficult. And we can expect to face continued adversity in 2026. Yet, as we push forward to a future of unknown challenges, I feel compelled to pause and marvel at the resilience and generosity of this community – and to do so with deep hope and gratitude. With your support, Voces Unidas continues to make monumental strides in our transformational work to create a more equitable Colorado for all. From our home in the Western Slope to the Capitol Buildin

The new year brings a new legislative session in Colorado, and when the 2026 General Assembly convenes at the State Capitol in January, Voces Unidas will be there promoting policy solution important to rural Latino communities, as we have since 2021. The challenges currently facing rural Latinos require us to build on prior work and focus on strengthening protections for immigrants and working families across the state. While we will take positions on many proposed bills over

This past election, voters elected seven of the eight school board candidates endorsed by Voces Unidas Action Fund. Those leaders have now taken the oath of office and stepped into roles that carry enormous responsibility. They inherit school systems where Latino students continue to face deep, persistent achievement gaps compared to their white peers. Their mandate from our community is clear: move from rhetoric to results and transform our school districts into places where