As news came out that President Donald Trump is already cracking down on immigrant communities, and moving forward with building a wall on the southern border, progressive organizations in Colorado are taking a stand.
Three Colorado progressive organizations released statements yesterday in opposition to the President’s action against immigrants.
The Director of Generation Latino, Maria Handley, stated in a news release:
“President Trump’s history of hateful rhetoric towards immigrants to this country is divisive- and building a wall across the Mexican border will not bring this country together. The US is a proud nation of immigrants. For centuries people from all around the world have come to this country for a better life…
“Trump is making assumptions about those who risk their lives to come to America, calling them the worst type of criminals. He could not be more wrong. Immigrants across this great nation are hard-working individuals and are a critical part of our economy, without their contributions we would not be half as strong as a nation.
“Undocumented millennials will not stand for this demonization. They are proud of who they are and are putting themselves on the line by sharing their stories.
“Congress must come together and stand up to Trump and his rash executive orders. They must act as a balance to Trump’s alternative facts about Latinos and other immigrants in this country.”
Handley’s comments were echoed by Conservation Colorado. That organization’s Director, Pete Maysmith, released a statement reading in part:
“As an organization that does significant organizing with Latino and immigrant communities, we see firsthand how these sorts of extreme policies would impact people across the board and hurt our neighbors, friends, and colleagues. We are appalled by these announcements, which are immoral and contrary to our American values. […]
“Our America is better than this, and Conservation Colorado pledges to stand with all people of Colorado as we fight for a better environment and future for our families. We call on the president to reconsider these policies that will hurt so many among us, and call on Senators Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet to stand up for Colorado families rather than ideological and hateful rhetoric that hurts and degrades our communities.”
Colorado Peoples Alliance (COPA) released a statement reminding the president that progressive organizations will not take these kinds of policies lying down:
“[…] The majority of Americans strongly oppose mass deportations, building walls, and support immigration reform with a path to citizenship. Real, commonsense immigration reform is the solution. Instead of destroying millions of families by mass and senseless deportations, Trump should work across party lines to deliver commonsense immigration reform that allow immigrants a path to legalization.
“Together with our immigrant families, we will stand strong against Trump and his administration’s attacks. We will never stop fighting for our immigrant community, we will march on the streets, we will take action to make sure our elected leaders and new president protect families and never target them. We will fight for justice and a Colorado that is welcoming to all regardless of background and/or immigration status.”
