Colorado’s Latino, immigrant and working class families contribute so much to our state, and in the face of continued rising costs our communities need help. Yet recently passed MAGA-backed legislation, the Big Ugly Bill does nothing to lower our cost of living, and instead will strip away health care, raise electricity bills and double down on harmful immigration policies that target our communities.
Representative Gabe Evans’ outspoken support of this toxic legislation — now law — is especially harmful to his constituents and must be held accountable.
Latino, immigrant and working-class Coloradans are disproportionately impacted by this law. With long faced systemic barriers to healthcare, this new law only piles on to our burdens. Instead of addressing the challenges we face, this law will make these issues worse by making sweeping cuts and fundamental changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Two programs that are popular with the majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents in our state. Adding insult to injury, it will also raise utility prices on Coloradans.
Mark Gabriel, the CEO of Brighton-based electricity cooperative United Power, recently announced an increase in rates to pay for the solar and wind projects necessary to keep up with rising energy demand. That’s relevant because this big but not beautiful law ended clean energy tax credits Democrats had passed in the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate law signed by former President Biden in 2022. Future wind and solar projects had to break ground within 60 days of the budget bill’s passage and will begin operations by 2029 to qualify for the clean energy incentives — and that 60-day window was reached in mid-September. Colorado utilities companies had warned that timeline wouldn’t give them enough time to adjust their current plans to expand energy production. It had been the combination of clean energy and existing energy infrastructure that had helped keep energy utility prices low prior to the Big Ugly Bill.
Sadly, the big ugly bill will also hurt Colorado’s immigrant and Latino communities, which have been vital to our economic success.
Since Trump’s second term, we’ve seen the reign of terror his immigration policies unleashed — not just on immigrants, but on U.S. citizens who continue to be harassed and detained without cause. This new law supercharges that same agenda by providing ICE with billions of dollars to hire unqualified new agents. The legislation provides $45 billion for detention facilities, $14 billion for deportation operations and billions of dollars more to hire an additional 10,000 new agents by 2029, and analysts have warned that hiring standards are sure to suffer. Latinos and immigrants are being scapegoated with an administration bending federal law enforcement to justify racial profiling and mass detention. But here in Colorado, we know our strength comes from embracing immigrants who contribute to the communities we’ve built together.
Evans’ choice to vote yes on this bill was both a breach of the public’s trust in their representatives in government and a blatant contradiction of our community’s interest. Several polls conducted by numerous bipartisan organizations show voter disapproval of the bill. Evans backing it and other similarly harmful legislation was due to Trump’s formal endorsement during his current campaign for reelection to Colorado’s 8th Congressional District. It is clear where his loyalties lie, and it’s not with hard-working Coloradans.
As a community organizer who has spent the entirety of the current administration working with Latino families across Colorado, I see the human impact of these policies every day. I hear stories about the very real and tangible effects of agendas like this. Parents are afraid to take their kids to school due to ICE raids, students who want to focus on their education carry the weight of fear, and workers who contribute to our economy are treated as disposable. These are not abstract “policy debates” — they are lived realities for people in our neighborhoods. I know firsthand how damaging this new law already is, and why our elected officials must be held to account for choosing political allegiance over the well-being of their own communities.
Julian Guevara is a community organizer with the nonprofit organization Mi Familia En Acción, which aims to build Latino political power through investment, civic engagement, legislative advocacy and community education and outreach.
Hence then, the article about guest opinion julian guevara latino immigrant and working class coloradans being hurt by budget bill was published today ( ) and is available on GreeleyTribune ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( (Guest opinion) Julian Guevara: Latino, immigrant and working-class Coloradans being hurt by budget bill )
Also on site :