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

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

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

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

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

Today is the first day of the legislature’s special session and there’s a lot at stake.  Voces Unidas is monitoring to make sure...

Donald Trump’s destructive policy bill recently signed into law includes many harmful provisions that disproportionately impact people...

We hear a lot these days about Colorado’s urban-rural divide — the disconnect between the needs and values of Front Range cities and...

Today, our pro-worker champions, Representatives Elizabeth Velasco and Meg Froelich, had to ask the House Business Affairs and Labor...

Voces Unidas is pleased to see this week’s introduction of our priority bill HB25-1286 , which seeks to protect workers exposed to...

When the 2025 General Assembly convenes at the State Capitol this week, “protection” will be the prevailing theme for Voce Unidas. As...

Farm workers are critical to the economy of Colorado, but they have few protections. Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and other...

The 2024 Colorado Legislative Session came to a close on Wednesday, and Voces Unidas would like to thank all of the lawmakers and members...

At Voces Unidas, we are continuously fighting for Environmental Justice, Housing Justice and Health Justice, which is why we threw our...

President and CEO Alex Sánchez testified against SB24-090 (Possess Identification While Driving) during a hearing in the Senate Judiciary...