Today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision to keep in place the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) is a triumph for immigrants, Colorado communities and for our country. DACA recipients weave immense contributions into the fabric of our communities; they have gone to college, started businesses, bought homes and started families. They are our friends, neighbors, co-workers, teachers, members of our military and so much more. Indeed, thousands are health care professionals, or other essential workers, who have been working on the front lines of the pandemic response in Colorado. Keeping families together, healthy and without fear of deportation is key to making our communities stronger, safer and more prosperous. Today and always, we stand with Dreamers and immigrant and refugee communities here in Colorado and across the nation.
For now, roughly more than 650,000 DACA recipients across the country – including 15,000 recipients in Colorado – can breathe a sigh of relief.
This is news worth celebrating, yet we know our work to advance health equity for all is far from over. Immigrants and their families still face numerous challenges, including deportation and criminalization, barriers to health care services, access to nutritious foods, and safe and stable housing. All individuals and families who call Colorado “home” deserve to have health in reach, regardless of their national origin, immigration status or DACA status.
At our core, we believe that health is a basic human right and our work aims to ensure everyone has what they need to be healthy. We stand strong with Dreamers and with those who fight relentlessly for the health of immigrant communities in Colorado.
Read our previous statement on immigration and DACA.