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We’re excited to announce that HB-1194, the bill to create a Statewide Immigration Legal Defense Fund, has been signed into law! In the coming years, we hope to grow this fund until it is large enough to provide a lawyer to anyone in the state facing deportation proceedings and unable to afford one of their own.
Governor Polis signing the Legal Defense Fund and Data Privacy bills into law alongside bill sponsors, Representatives Naquetta Ricks and Dominick Moreno.
The Campaign for Universal Representation has created a Statewide Legal Defense Fund that will help keep Colorado families together by providing a lawyer for people facing detention or deportation who couldn’t otherwise afford one.
Immigration detention is the only legal procedure in the nation where someone can be detained without the right to a government-funded lawyer. As a result, many people in deportation proceedings have valid legal claims to remain in the United States, but are deported anyway because they lack the legal expertise to effectively argue their cases. Legal defense is also critical to addressing Anti-Black racism in immigration court and the detention to deportation pipeline, since Black immigrants are over four times as likely as non-Black immigrants to face detention or deportation on criminal grounds.
70% of immigrants detained at the GEO immigration detention center in Aurora, CO do not have a lawyer
Immigrants with legal representation are 3.5 times more likely to be released from detention on bond
Immigrants with legal representation are 10 times more likely to win their cases
We are proud to announce that our bill HB-1194 to create a statewide Immigration Legal Defense Fund is now law in Colorado!
Universal representation in immigration court should be a national mandate. As we continue to push for equity, individual cities and states across the nation have risen to stand up for the immigrants in their communities.
Colorado joins five other states that have created statewide immigration legal defense funds: Oregon, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, and California
In 2017, in the wake of a growing wave of national anti-immigrant sentiment and policies, advocates and leaders in the Denver metro area worked to create the Denver Immigrant Legal Services Fund (DILSF) to provide free, quality legal services for Denver residents in immigration proceedings through local non-profits. With the Denver program, Colorado has taken a step towards leading the national movement for a “public defender” system for immigrants.
In 2021, our Campaign for Universal Representation took the next step by championing a new law to create a Colorado statewide legal defense fund! This law creates a fund similar to the Denver Immigrant Legal Services Fund (DILSF). Through the statewide fund, Coloradans with a deportation case can qualify to receive a free lawyer if they cannot afford one. As the fund grows, more and more Colorado immigrants will be able to face detention and deportation with crucial access to legal representation.
Support our Statewide Immigrant Legal Defense Fund
Donations made to this fund will contribute to the Statewide Immigrant Legal Defense Fund. This will be a public/private fund similar to the Denver Immigrant Legal Services Fund (DILSF). The administering agent will review grant applications and choose grantees. Through this statewide fund, any Coloradan with a deportation case would qualify to receive a free lawyer if they cannot afford one if sufficient funds are available.
This statewide fund will advance a universal model for representation that replicates a public defender model for immigration court. This means that no one would be turned away based on their likeliness to win their case. Everyone means everyone. If passed, Colorado would join other states like Oregon, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, and California in standing up for due-process and dignity for all.