New Report: Economic issues, immigration, and healthcare concerns among top issues in 2025 Colorado Latino Policy Agenda

Unresolved priorities remain for Latinos, according to voters and non-voters surveyed 

For the fifth consecutive year, economic issues dominate the list of concerns for Latino voters in Colorado, who rank addressing inflation and the rising cost of living as their top policy priorities in the fifth annual Colorado Latino Policy Agenda survey released today. Low wages, high healthcare costs and the lack of affordable and attainable housing also rank among the top priorities for Latinos in 2025 — along with a growing emphasis on reforming immigration policies while protecting immigrant rights.

The Colorado Latino Policy Agenda (CLPA) is an annual, nonpartisan report that provides insight for elected officials, community leaders, media, and others interested in the demographic makeup and views of Latinos in Colorado on pressing policy, political, and other relevant issues. 

The data spanning the past five surveys sends a clear message that the Latino community in Colorado needs to see action taken to improve its economic well-being as “addressing inflation and the rising cost of living” has ranked as the top priority for Latinos at both the state and federal levels for four consecutive years, while “ensuring workers have a living wage” topped the inaugural 2021 poll. “Improving wages and income” has also consistently ranked among the highest priorities for Latinos, landing as the No. 2 priority for the second consecutive year as the cost of living continues to outpace income levels of the community.

Among the key findings this year:

• Addressing inflation and the rising cost of living is the top priority for Latinos at both the state and federal levels for the fourth consecutive year, as the top three priorities in both categories focus on economic concerns.

• Economic issues comprise the top four priorities at the state level, with “creating affordable and attainable housing” ranking fourth behind inflation, low wages, and high health care costs."

• Protecting immigrant rights/immigration reform” was recognized as the highest non-economic priority for Latinos at the federal level (No. 4), with one-in-five Latinos (20%) naming it a top priority.

• Together, “protecting immigrant rights/immigration reform” and “increased border security/limit immigration” are top policy priorities for 28% of Latinos in Colorado, making immigration policy the third overall priority at the federal level.

• One out of two Latinos in Colorado say they do not trust that state agencies will not share their personal information with ICE (53%) or that local police will not collaborate or share data with ICE (54%).

• Most Latinos in Colorado believe all law enforcement officers operating in the state must clearly identify themselves (84%), should not be allowed to use masks to hide their identity (56%), and should not be allowed to stop anyone they suspect of being undocumented (62%).

• 40% of Latinos in Colorado say they would not be able to afford out-of-pocket medical costs and/or life-saving medications and would begin to skip or delay treatments if they were to lose healthcare coverage due to Medicaid cuts. 30% reported they would go into debt or face collections.

• 53% of Latinos in Colorado believe the nation is headed in the wrong direction, while 54% believe the state of Colorado is on the right track.

• 66% of those who believe the nation is headed in the wrong direction blame President Trump and his policies. Half of the 38% who say the nation is on the right track credit Trump.

Launched in 2021, the Colorado Latino Agenda (CLA) is a statewide public research initiative co-led by Voces Unidas and the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR). Now in its fifth year, the 2025 CLPA report is informed by a statewide poll of 1,245 Latino registered voters and – for the first time – 455 non-voters, totaling 1,700 survey respondents. The poll is designed to provide a representative, nonpartisan snapshot of views of the state's second-largest and second-fastest-growing ethnic voting bloc, including the sub-sample of non-voters to allow for specific analysis of all the views and preferences of Latinas and Latinos, regardless of voting privilege.

“Year after year, the data shows a similar theme: Latino families are still struggling with wages that don’t keep up, housing they can’t afford, and healthcare that costs too much,” said Alex Sánchez, President and CEO of Voces Unidas. “Immigration and immigrant rights are also rising fast as priorities because our families are living in fear. Colorado’s leaders can’t ignore these issues – Latinos are demanding action.” 

Polling for the 2025 CLPA was conducted online and over the phone, in both English and Spanish. BSP Research, a national firm with 20-plus years of helping community-based organizations research a diversifying United States, fielded the poll from July 10 - Aug. 6, 2025. The margin of error was ±2.4%. With 693 residents from rural counties and more than 100 residents from every congressional district polled this year, the survey is designed to capture a representative sample of all Latinos in Colorado and provide the opportunity to explore variation across districts and regions. 

“Since 2021, the Colorado Latino Policy Agenda has served as the largest poll of Latino registered voters in the state, providing both a robust annual data set and an opportunity to explore potential differences or similarities in perspectives and priorities of Colorado’s substantial Latino population over the past years,” said Dr. Gabriel Sanchez, who led the poll for BSP Research. “While data from the 2025 poll reveals increasing emphasis on issues like immigration, homelessness, and healthcare, the financial vulnerability of many Latino residents of Colorado remains an unavoidable theme for a sizable portion of the Latino community in the face of enduring economic headwinds.”

With 33% of respondents ranking the rising cost of living as their highest priority for the president and Congress to address and 33% more ranking “improving wages and income,” the polling numbers fluctuated only slightly from 2024, where the issues also ranked first and second, respectively. Further reinforcing the salience of economic policy to the Latino community, inflation and improving wages and income are the top priorities across every region and congressional district in Colorado. Latinos in CD-1 were the most likely to prioritize improving wages and income at 40%, with the Denver-Metro area leading among regions of the state (36%). Latinos in the Western region were most likely to prioritize the rising cost of living at 37%. 

HEALTHCARE COSTS

While economic struggles continue to command the list of priority issues for Latinos in Colorado, it’s evident that rising healthcare costs are contributing greatly to those financial concerns. “Lowering healthcare cost” is the third most commonly noted priority for both the federal (25%) and state (26%) governments to address. Adding a new indicator of Latino health and well-being this year, the 2025 CLPA found that overall health has stayed the same for (49%) or gotten worse (16%) for 65% of respondents.  Nearly a third (30%) are either dissatisfied or indifferent about the quality of medical care they receive, including 29% dissatisfied with the cost.

Having health insurance is one of the drivers for wider access to healthcare, and survey findings suggest that 9% of Latinos in Colorado currently lack health insurance coverage. Non-registered Latinos, including both those eligible and not eligible to register to vote, are nearly three times as likely (15%) to be uninsured as voters (6%). The most common reasons for lack of health insurance are: cannot afford it (20%), their employer does not offer health insurance (20%), or they lost a job that provided health insurance (19%). Another 12% indicated that they are no longer eligible for public insurance programs.

The potential loss of health insurance due to the reduction of Medicaid funding by the Trump administration poses even greater healthcare challenges for Latinos in Colorado, with 40% saying they would begin to skip or delay treatments if they were to lose coverage. An equally high percentage (40%) say they would not be able to afford out-of-pocket medical costs and/or life saving medications, and 30% reported that they would go into debt or face collections.

“The healthcare and health insurance data gathered through the 2025 CLPA is particularly important because we know Congress voted this year to kick nearly 250,000 Coloradans off of the Medicaid services they depend on for health care, many of them Latinos,” said Dusti Gurule, President and CEO of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR). “In 2024, Latino voters demonstrated their strong support for expanding state-funded insurance programs to cover abortion care as a way to address economic and systemic inequities impacting Latinas’ abilities to lead safe, healthy, and self-determined lives. Clearly, the battle against those inequities has expanded to include the broader community in 2025, placing even more pressure on the state and even more Latinos at risk.” 

PROTECTING IMMIGRANT RIGHTS/IMMIGRATION

After emerging as a top policy priority in 2024, protecting immigrant rights/immigration reform was recognized as the highest non-economic priority for Latinos at the federal level in the 2025 CLPA, ranking fourth with one-in-five Latinos (20%) naming it a top priority. The importance of protecting the rights of immigrants is likely driven by the shift in deportation policy by the Trump administration, including mass deportations in Colorado and across the country. Another 8% of all respondents identified increasing border security/limiting immigration to the country. When combined, 28% of Latinos in Colorado prioritize immigration policy at the federal level, qualifying as the third overall priority among Latinos in Colorado.

“As this administration continues to ramp up deportation efforts, we continue to see immigrant rights and immigration reform rise in priority among the Latino community year over year,” BSP Research’s Dr. Sanchez said. “Latinos support an orderly border, but the methods used to enforce immigration policy matter to them even more. They are asking for greater transparency from authorities and reasonable opportunities for legal immigration.”

Among demographic sub-groups in the state, Latinos under the age of 30 are more likely to prioritize immigrant rights than older Latinos, with 26% of Latinos 18 to 29 prioritizing protecting immigrant rights and immigration reform. Protecting immigrant rights is also a higher priority among Latino Democrats (25%).

One out of two Latinos (53%) say they do not trust that state agencies will keep their personal data safe and not share it with ICE. A comparable 54% say they do not trust that their local police will not collaborate or share data with ICE. Two out of three Latinos (65%) oppose local law enforcement working or collaborating with ICE without a judicial warrant, with 63% opposing sharing local and state data with ICE for immigration enforcement. Two out of three Latinos (66%) also support $50,000 fines against local and state government employees who violate state law by sharing data with ICE.   

Additionally, solid majorities of Latinos believe that all law enforcement officers operating in the state of Colorado should always identify themselves, wear body cameras, drive clearly marked vehicles and treat everyone with dignity and respect (84%); say ICE agents should not be allowed to stop anyone they suspect of being undocumented (62%); and do not believe ICE agents should be allowed to cover their faces with masks to hide their identity (56%). 

ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS

Addressing gun violence is also a recurring priority for Latinos in 2025, once again ranking as the fifth-most important issue for elected officials to address at the federal level (17%) as well as the state level (17%), where it moved up from No. 6. 

The issue of homelessness is also considered a top priority for state officials to address by 17% of poll respondents after emerging as a critical priority (23%) in 2024. Homelessness is notably not cited as a top priority at the federal level, suggesting that the Latino electorate believes that this is an issue that the state government has jurisdiction to resolve.

There is otherwise considerable overlap between top Latino policy priorities at the state and federal levels. The top two issues, addressing the cost of living (35%) and improving wages and income at (36%), are nearly identical in both their state and federal priorities, while lowering healthcare costs is cited as a top priority by 26% of Latinos at the state level and 25% at the federal level. Creating affordable and attainable housing ranked No. 4 among top policy priorities when framed as a state legislative priority (19%), a bit higher than when framed as a federal priority (13%).

These concerns highlight again the significant impact the economy is having on the community, suggesting that many Latinos continue to struggle to keep up with the rising cost of housing and the cost of living more broadly. When asked how their personal finances are currently doing, 33% of Latinos note their personal financial situation has improved while another 33% state it has become worse, a modest improvement from 2024 survey numbers (30% better; 35% worse). 

While the data suggests that the financial picture for Latinos in Colorado has improved slightly over the past year, there are clear regional and demographic differences in the economic well-being of residents. Respondents whose financial situation has become worse are more likely to live in northeast Colorado, where 37% of Latinos in the region say their situation has worsened over the last 12 months. On the other hand, 40% of the respondents in the Denver-Metro area say their financial situation has improved over the past year. Among Denver residents there is a clear gender gap in economic well-being, as Latino men are 15% more likely to report that their financial situation has improved than Latinas.

When it comes to the nation as a whole, 2025 marks the fifth consecutive year (polling began in 2021) that a majority of Latinos believe the nation remains off track. There was a minor increase in those who believe the nation is headed in the wrong direction in 2025 (53%) over 2024 (51%), with 38% saying it’s on the right track this year compared to 39% in 2024. Notably, Latinas are 10% more likely than Latino men to believe the country is headed in the wrong direction (57%), along with 60% of Latinos under 30.

Polling shows that credit for the state of the nation – both good and bad – falls squarely on President Trump. Among Latinos who feel the nation is going in the right direction, 50% identified President Trump as the reason, more than double the second choice. President Trump and his policies were also the most commonly identified reason for Latinos who felt that the nation is heading in the wrong direction, at 66%.

Latino residents are more positive about the state of Colorado and county governments than they are about the federal government, with a majority of 54% (+5% from 2024) saying they believe the state of Colorado is going in the right direction compared to 34% who believe it’s off track. Similarly, 53% of respondents believe their county is moving in the right direction compared to 30% who disagree. Those who have lived in Colorado for more than 21 years were 4% more likely to say their county is headed in the right direction. 

LOOKING AT ELECTEDS, POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS

A separate section of the survey paid for by Voces Unidas Action Fund and COLOR Action Fund measured the effectiveness and approval ratings of major elected officials and political institutions. This includes approval ratings of President Trump who has a -14 approval rating (55% disapprove, 41% approve) among Latinos in Colorado, failing to break the 50% approval threshold in any congressional district.

Among Colorado’s federal and statewide elected officials:

• U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper has a +27 approval rating (52% approve, 25% disapprove),

• U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet has a +23 approval rating (49% approve, 26% disapprove),

• Attorney General Phil Weiser has a +17 approval rating (43% approve, 26% disapprove), 

• Secretary of State Gena Griswold has an approval rating of +16 (43% approve, 27% disapprove) among Latino voters.

• In the state’s most competitive congressional districts, Rep. Jeff Hurd (CD-3) has a +11 approval rating (39% approve, 28% disapprove) and Rep. Gabe Evans (CD-8) sits at +16 (44% approve, 28% disapprove).

• Evans' predecessor, former Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo, has an approval rating of +33 (53% approve, 20% disapprove).

• Overall, 40% of Latinos in Colorado currently approve of the job Republicans in Congress are doing, compared to 58% approval for Democrats in Congress.

• There is a similar trend with approval ratings of the state legislature, with 41% approval for Republicans compared to 61% approval for Democrats. 

At 17% of Colorado's overall eligible voter population, the Latino electorate has had significant influence in recent federal and state elections. It continues to outpace other racial groups in growth in the eligible voter population in the state. However, findings from the past five years show that Latino voter outreach and mobilization have fallen far short of where they should be to see Latino voter turnout reach its full potential. According to this year’s survey, 44% of Latinos have not yet been contacted by anyone about registering or voting, just as in 2024, indicating that candidates and parties are not working hard enough to court the Latino vote. In Western Slope CD-3, more than half (52%) of Latino voters report they have not yet been contacted.

A goal of the annual CLPA is to inform elected officials of opportunities to connect and respond to the concerns of this important constituency by presenting the Latino community’s most relevant issues in real-time. Beyond the priority issues highlighted here, the 2025 CLPA report, planned for release in September, also delves into education policy, discrimination and racial justice, climate and environmental justice, tax policies, and other issues impacting Latinos in Colorado.

Voces Unidas and COLOR encourage all those interested in the views of Latinos in Colorado on pressing policy, political, and other relevant issues in the state to download and read the full report at www.coloradolatinopolicyagenda.org.