After a year of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, Colorado’s tourism industry was back in business this summer. Pent-up demand is bringing thousands of people to our state who want to see and experience our beautiful landscape. While this is helpful for our state economy, overworked employees and understaffed facilities are struggling to accommodate this flood of tourists. Immigration reform could help.
Of Colorado's 189,130 undocumented immigrant residents, 18% already work in accommodation and food services, arts, entertainment and recreation; and 17% of Colorado’s construction workforce is also undocumented. These workers are critical to supporting Colorado’s tourism industry that generated $1.5 billion in state and local taxes just in 2019 alone.
Unfortunately, as we were reminded by a recent court ruling, undocumented immigrants, especially Dreamers, are living in the shadows fearing deportation and facing numerous barriers to entry to the mainstream job market. Legislation that provides an earned pathway to citizenship, such as the Dream Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, would support the potential of this population by giving them the legal certainty they need to pursue jobs, contribute to the economy and help relieve some of the labor shortage.
Colorado’s recently passed laws to protect our undocumented population are steps in the right direction, and we can do better. Our lawmakers in Congress, especially Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, should continue to prioritize this legislation and provide an earned pathway to citizenship to our undocumented immigrants. The strength of our economy and many of our essential services depend on it.
Michelle Zimmerman
Silverton
