Voces Unidas de las Montañas has released six recommendations following a comprehensive review of Colorado's legal and nonprofit landscape to identify opportunities to increase capacity to support Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) holders and their employers with work-based visas and other legal pathways if the DACA program is overturned by the courts in 2025.
Our research team spent three months reviewing available public data on DACA holders in Colorado, assessing available services and capacity of the state’s existing legal service providers and nonprofit organizations, and interviewing a dozen Colorado organizations and legal experts. We also reviewed several national models and efforts designed to increase capacity for mass legalization efforts.
These are our recommendations:
Conduct more research on DACA holders in Colorado
Our team found that very little data exists about DACA holders living in Colorado. To better understand how many DACA holders would qualify or need legal support for work-based visas, more research is needed. New research should try to determine how many DACA holders have college degrees and in what fields of study, how many need Advance Parole, and how many work in professions or with employers that would qualify for a work-based visa.
Offer more legal clinics and education on work-based visas
Our team found no evidence of legal clinics or public awareness campaigns focused on work-based visas in Colorado. Most community-led legal assistance efforts and public awareness campaigns we found focused on new arrivals (TPS), DACA renewals, or other pathways, but not work-based visas. Philanthropic investments could help nonprofits increase awareness of work-based visas and connect eligible DACA holders and their employers to legal services.
Introduce a centralized online immigration resource hub with directories of service providers
Our team found the process of searching for qualified immigration attorneys and trusted nonprofits providing immigration legalization services very laborious and complicated. To better support DACA holders and their employers with trusted and reliable information about work-based visas and other legal pathways, a centralized hub is needed to make it easier to access quality service providers. This hub should feature user-friendly directories of nonprofits offering legal services, private immigration attorneys by specialty area, and resources for employers seeking to sponsor DACA holders. A centralized hub would support the entire immigrant community seeking reliable and trusted information about the available legal services and supports available by region of the state.
Increase the number of attorneys available to support DACA holders and their employers with work-based visas
Our team found gaps in available attorneys with expertise to support both DACA holders and their employers with work-based visas. This was more evident in rural areas of the state. Partnerships with Colorado law schools should be explored to support large-scale legalization efforts. In other states, the nonprofit community and law schools have successfully partnered to increase capacity to meet both short- and long-term legal capacity needs.
Create a new fund to support mass legalization efforts
Colorado does not have a dedicated private or public fund to support a mass legalization effort. Our research found that existing nonprofits would require additional funding to add capacity to identify and support new clients with legal assistance, referral services, and education. The fund could cover legal fees, filing fees, and travel expenses associated with Advance Parole for those DACA holders required to travel outside the United States in a qualifying international educational program. Other states have created similar funds, supported by philanthropy and the business community. A dedicated fund administrator, such as a nonprofit, could oversee the distribution of resources and create the infrastructure necessary for a large-scale legalization effort.
Consider forming a new nonprofit to coordinate a large-scale legalization effort
Consistent with best practices seen in other states, we recommend that a new or existing nonprofit entity take on the coordination and provide leadership for the large-scale legalization effort. This nonprofit would also serve as the administrator of a legalization fund, charged with subgrating to nonprofits and providing support to cover legal fees and other expenses.
For more information, contact our research team at research@vocesunidas.org.
