DENVER — The “Here To Work” campaign is urging President Joe Biden to grant work permits for long-term, undocumented immigrants.
Several groups in Colorado, including Voces Unidas Action Fund, ABIC Action and more launched the campaign on the Colorado Capitol steps alongside state leaders, the Colorado Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and more. They said this would help give the immigrants a chance at the life they came to the United States seeking.
“We have this tremendous, unique secret sauce that is built in large part due to our various like immigration patterns,” said Mike Ferrufino, president and CEO of the Colorado Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
But Hispanic advocacy groups in Denver don’t want that sauce to be so secret anymore.
“Years and years of DACA recipients, undocumented immigrants, being tossed back and forth like a football, a political football, we just had to get creative and coming up with solutions,” said Alex Munoz Valenciano with Voces Unidas.
The groups said Here To Work is a call to action.
“To utilize the power they have to be able to go through and provide an opportunity for millions of people that have been living in the shadows over the past couple decades, and contributing substantially to the economy, building families, building homes, building businesses,” Ferrufino said. ”Allow them to feel comfortable without hearing a knock at the door asking them to leave.”
That knock is something that’s been on Antonia Pena’s mind for the last 25 years she’s lived in Colorado, undocumented.
“We left our country looking for better opportunities and the fear is something we live with day after day, hour after hour,” Pena said. “I’ve prepared myself by going to school without being documented and would like to have a professional job, no job is a bad job.”
Here To Work would also help people like Munoz Valenciano, also a DACA recipient.
“Having DACA means I have a work authorization, so I have a work permit, social security number and also protection from deportation, and the Here To Work campaign works sort of similar,” Munoz Valenciano said. “If DACA were to go away then current DACA recipients could also look at this as an alternative to DACA.”
The advocacy groups said President Biden granting temporary protected status for Venezuelans was a good step, and they said programs for migrants who are just arriving are important, also.
But Here To Work focuses on people who’ve been in their communities for decades.
“I think it’s fair to provide some protections for those individuals that have been contributing to the tapestry of the American dream in our country not just today or yesterday, the last 6 months, but sometimes for the last 30 years,” Ferrufino said.
The Colorado Hispanic advocacy groups will head to Washington, D.C. for the national Here To Work Day of Action on November 14th.
> Watch 9NEWS original shows, live Colorado news and weather updates, daily forecasts, and sports coverage for free on the 9NEWS+ app on Roku and Fire TV.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Latest from 9NEWS
9NEWS+ has multiple live daily shows including 9NEWS Mornings, Next with Kyle Clark and 9NEWS+ Daily, an original streaming program. 9NEWS+ is where you can watch live breaking news, weather updates, and press conferences. You can also replay recent newscasts and find videos on demand of our top stories, local politics, investigations and Colorado specific features.
To download 9NEWS+ on Roku search for KUSA.
To download 9NEWS+ on Fire TV search for 9NEWS.