Voces Unidas calls on Senator Hickenlooper to keep his promises to the immigrant community

Voces Unidas joined more than 45 organizations and hundreds of leaders from across Colorado calling on Senator Hickenlooper to keep his promises to the immigrant community and to lead on immigration reform.

Here's the open letter sent to Senator Hickenlooper:

The message U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper sent on February 4, 2021, with his vote to block vital stimulus payments to undocumented immigrants was loud and clear: I only care about you when I'm campaigning. After four years of relentless cruelty to our immigrant communities, Sen. Hickenlooper took a position to continue the egregious attack on immigrants by voting to deny stimulus funds and financial relief to U.S. residents with an undocumented status.

Sen. Hickenlooper’s campaign page highlights his past actions as Governor of Colorado to address immigration challenges by granting in-state tuition to DREAMers, granting driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, and opposing Trump's horrific decision to end DACA. Yet, in the midst of a public health crisis that has disproportionately impacted immigrant communities and people of color, the Senator made his own cruel decision. Sen. Hickenlooper voted to deny financial relief to nurses, teachers, farm workers, grocery store employees, janitors, parents and community members who continue to risk their health to secure essential services.

On the same day that Sen. Hickenlooper voted against offering economic contributions to the immigrant community, Governor Jared Polis released the first annual Colorado “New American Integration Initiative” report that highlighted the economic contributions made to our state by the immigrant community. Notably, $19.7 billion was spent by tourists in 2016 alone — while Sen. Hickenlooper was Colorado’s Governor — with immigrant workers providing a quarter of the workforce to meet traveler’s accommodations in tourism.

Approximately 19.8 million immigrant essential workers currently risk their lives under the constant threat of exposure. It’s been proven that immigrants are essential to Denver’s rapid response efforts and especially vulnerable due to gaps in federal relief packages, language access barriers, and increased risks of infection associated with frontline and essential work.

In the end, while this anti-immigrant amendment is dead, Sen. Hickenlooper’s symbolic vote remains on record — the message it sends is unacceptable. Sen. Hickenlooper campaigned on a promise to represent all Coloradans and help keep everyone safe, but his actions Thursday broke that promise. The senator’s “aye” vote to deny critical relief to people who need it most was an affront to every essential worker, every immigrant, and every Coloradan. It is not enough to praise people as essential. We must treat each other as such through our actions.

The Senator must immediately commit to supporting Colorado’s impacted communities, and take every opportunity to deliver necessary aid and protection to all Coloradans. Past promises and platitudes are not enough. If the Senator truly is "committed to reversing the Trump Administration’s harmful immigration agenda and helping to restore humanity to a broken system," he needs to do better than he did last Thursday. We need a senator who truly is “laser-focused on getting us through the pandemic, rebuilding the economy and finding a long-term solution to fix our broken immigration system.” We need Sen. Hickenlooper to keep his promise.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Community Organizations:

ACLU of CO

Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition and Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition Action Fund

Aurora Mental Health Center

Black Lives Matter 5280

Caravan For Racial Justice

Casa de Paz

Center for Health Progress

Centro Humanitario Para Los Trabajadores

CLLARO: Colorado Latino Leadership, Advocacy, & Research Organization

Cobalt

COLOR Action Fund

Colorado Freedom Fund

Colorado Jobs with Justice

Colorado People's Action

Colorado People's Alliance

Defiende Nuestra Tierra

Denver Alliance for Street Health Response (DASHR)

Edgewater Collective

El Movimiento Sigue

Fort Collins Community Action Network

Fuerza Latina

Grupo Azteca

Hispanic Women of Weld County

Immigrant Legal Center of BOCO

Indivisible Denver

ISAAC - Interfaith Solidarity and Accompaniment Coalition

Latina Initiative

Latino Coalition of Weld County

Latinos Unidos

Lifespan Local

Mary of Magdala ECC

Mujeres de Colores

NAACP Boulder County

New Era Colorado

Northern Colorado Immigrants United

Philanthropiece Foundation

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains

Progress Now Colorado

Stand for Children Colorado

Truth and Conciliation Commission

United for a New Economy

Voces Unidas de Las Montañas

Warm Cookies of the Revolution

Women's Lobby of Colorado

Elected Officials:

Hon. Irene Aguilar

Hon. Joseph Salazar

Hon. Polly Baca

Sen. Julie Gonzales

Rep. Adrienne Benavidez

Rep. Cathy Kipp

Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet

Rep. Iman M. Jodeh

Rep. Serena Gonzales-GutierrezAmanda P. Sandoval

Bill Gippe

Candi CdeBaca

David Ortiz

Emma Pinter

Jamie Torres

Juan Marcano

Meg Froelich

Michal Rosenoer

Rhonda Solis

Richard Garcia

Sara Loflin, Erie Trustee

Shontel M. Lewis

Steven Woodrow

Tay Anderson

Businesses:

Bridging Communication

Combi Taco / Stokes Poke

Felicidad X Fraser-Solak, LCSW

Hannah Gay Social Impact

Martines Muffins

Martines Muffins

Meyer Law Office, P.C.

NetLink, Inc

Nuevo Amanecer

Sacred Designs Healing Arts

Tara Seren llc

Yellow Scene Magazine

Community Members:

Adri Magnuson

Adriana Pilar Nieto, PhD

Adriana Soto

Alejandro Prieto

Alex Sánchez

Alexander Hutchins

Alexis Menocal Harrigan

Allison Shaw

Alyssa esposito

Amanda Graves

Amira Assad-Lucas

Ana De Casas

Andrea Martinez

Andrea Sandoval

Angel Malan

Azarel Madrigal-Chase

Blanca Trejo

Brandon Keao

Carolina Barbosa

Catherine Mueller

Catherine Shea

Cesar Prieto

Charla Wright

Chris Gaebler

Christina Espino

Cindy Peña

Claudia Farfan-Lorono

Colton Ortiz

Cris Sandoval

Crystal Araujo-Espinosa

Dalia Lopez

Dana Miller

Daniel Hoback

Darien Wilson

Dianne Archuleta

Elizabet Garcia

Elizabeth Steirer

Felicia Gonzales

Georgie Aguirre-Sacasa

Harriet Mullaney

Heather sabo

Heather Shea

Isabel Mendoza

Isabel Serafin

Jacob De Santiago

James Reyes

Jane Feldman

Janell Weber

Janet Johnson

Jason Muñoz DeLeon

Jesica Puente

Joan Harvey

Johanna Ulloa

John Ronquillo

Judy Alliprandine

Julie Schoenfeld

Karen Mortimer

Karen Tuddenham

Katie Kelly

Kelcie Boyd

Kristen Kofoed

Kyana

Lacey S Taschdjian

Laura Ferre

Leanne D Wheeler

Lorenzo Sanchez

Lu Wright

Lynn Stockton

Margaret Small

Marie Teottier

Marla Stauth

Mary Helen Sandoval

Mary Pridgen

Mary Wilham

Melissa Yang

Michael Encinas

Michael Himawan PT, DPT

Michael Lefsky

Michelle Kaiser

Miguel Baca Barragan

Molly Cooper

Neil Allaire

Nina Myers

Olivia Mendoza

Patsy A. Contreras

Ray Rodriguez

Robin Walter

Ruth Simonson

Samantha Wittrock

Sarah Foster

Sarah Parady

Sarah Zuehlsdorff

Shari Leyshon

Sheccid Alcaraz-Soto

Shelle Pennington

Sofía Solano

Sofia Wolfe

Sol Sandoval

Soledad Sandoval Tafoya

Stephanie Torres

Steve Chavez, Esq.

Susan Kenney

Susan Ogilvie

Sybenie Hernandez

Terri Robles

Theresa Boakye

Valeria Morales-Rivas

Victor Prieto

Wendy McCann

Angel Sanchez

Barbara Jabaily

Charles Gilford

Guadalupe A Solis

James Gilligan

Josette Jaramillo and Dennis Dougherty

Karen A Wagner

Kerry Kramer

Laura Peniche

LAURA Richards

Mandy Blumreich

Mark Wideman

Martin Frias

Neil Allaire

Nicholas Marquez

Philip True

Ramon Del Castillo

Vanessa Quintana

Religious Organizations:

Mountain View Friends Meeting/Peace and Justice Committee

Boulder Friends Meeting

Loretto Community

Mary of Magdala Ecumenical Catholic Communion

The Refuge

Center for Inner Peace

Circle of the Raven's Call

**List not complete. As of Feb. 7, 2021.