Colorado Projects

Project Title: ICE Breaker

Project Authors & Collaborators: Alvaro Gomez, Erik Hoy, Megan MacDonald and Bill Buff

Project Description: Project utilizes visualizations to picture how much money private organizations make by detaining illegal immigrants.

The project is not available.

Project description: Understanding the truth behind the immigration process and procedure and the people it impacts most.

Project authors: Lisa Ortiz, Shara Merrill and Lena Ortiz

View the project’s planning via the hyperlink.

Data sources:

• Pew Research Center “Key facts about refugees to the U.S.”
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Administration for Children & Families
• Child’s Bureau Child Welfare Outcomes State Data Review Portal “Colorado [Context Data]”
• American Immigration Council “U.S. Citizen Children Impacted by Immigration Enforcement” fact sheet
• The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) “Undocumented Immigrants’ State & Local Tax Contributions”
• Westword “Denver Portrayed as Hellscape in Safest Colorado Cities Lists”
• NPR “For 7th Consecutive Year, Visa Overstays Exceeded Illegal Border Crossings” article
• Cato Institute “Immigration Wait Times from Quotas Have Doubled: Green Card Backlogs Are Long, Growing, and Inequitable” policy analysis No.873

Project description: Our team of students from various backgrounds participated in the 2019 Colorado Migrahack at the University of Denver with the goal of dispelling myths regarding immigration in Colorado. We hope to create a reference for immigration information and provide other students with the tools to spark conversation and change.

Project authors: James Roan, Peyton Howell, Kendall Nudelman, Sarah Groose, Dylan Pine, Garret Sugarbaker, Bella Borbonus and Liangyin Yu

View the project on their website.

Data sources:

• American Immigration Council. “Immigrants in Colorado.” American Immigration Council, American Immigration Council, 9 May 2018, www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigrants-colorado.
• Colorado, State of. “State Demographics Data – CO.” Migrationpolicy.org, 1 Aug. 2019, www.migrationpolicy.org/data/state-profiles/state/demographics/CO.
• DeSilver, Drew. “No U.S. Industry Employs Mostly Immigrant Workers.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 16 Mar. 2017, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/03/16/immigrants-dont-make-up-a-majority-of-workers-in-any-u-s-industry/.
• Hindi, Saja. “Colorado Ranked among the Highest in the Country in Employment Measures for Refugees, Immigrants.” The Denver Post, The Denver Post, 16 Sept. 2019, www.denverpost.com/2019/09/16/colorado-immigrants-refugees-employment-2019-report/.
• Ruiz, Neil G., and John Gramlich. “4 Paths Highly Educated Immigrants Take to Study and Work in the U.S.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 1 Feb. 2019, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/02/01/4-paths-highly-educated-immigrants-take-to-study-and-work-in-the-u-s/.
• Svaldi, Aldo. “How Immigrants Are Vital to the Colorado and U.S. Economy.” The Denver Post, The Denver Post, 13 Mar. 2017, www.denverpost.com/2017/03/11/immigrants-us-colorado-economy/.
• Teaching Tolerance Staff. “Ten Myths About Immigration.” Teaching Tolerance, 2011, www.tolerance.org/magazine/spring-2011/ten-myths-about-immigration.
• Vasan, Thamanna. “Immigrant Workers Critical to Colorado Economy.” Coloradofiscal.org, Colorado Fiscal Institute, 29 Apr. 2015, www.coloradofiscal.org/cfi-report-immigrant-workers-critical-to-colorado-economy/.

Project description: Our focus has been on understanding the geographical location of immigrant visas (H1-B, H2-A, H2-B) in Colorado and the economic impact of migrant workers.

Project authors: Jesse Acevedo, Saja Hindi, Hector Beltran, Carlos Jimenez, Jiang Zhan, Isabella Ashton, Sophie Duyos, Sage Andersohn, Amy Kelley, and Benjamin Lee

Data sources: Department of Labor, USCIS, and GitHub: Migrahack and New American Economy Study

This project is not available.

Project description: The tension between Colorado’s welcoming stance toward non-citizens and the federal government’s allocation of millions of dollars in contracts to companies with operations in the state who carry out its restrictive immigration policies.

Project authors: Rebecca David Hensley, Jennifer Oldham, Joseph Osley, Erika Polson, Susan Sandoz and Anna Sutterer

Data sources:

• GitHub ICE contracts
• Copy of ICE contracts from 2010 to July 29, 2019
• Federal overreach Colorado script
• Spreadsheet of project graphics

Project description: Through our research, we found there was insufficient data around ICE raids and arrests. We decided to build an app that would fill this data gap by plotting real-time and historical data of ICE sightings, raids, and arrests. Real-time data would be collected by individuals in the community (the accused, bystanders, allies, etc.) and later access the anonymized data to build new and innovative solutions. The Seguros Unidos App brings resources from across the state to the tips of your fingers. Immigrants and allies can take action as a unified front to affect change together.

Project authors: Lisa Ma, Maria Bogomaz, Sarah Pliske, Felix Dulys, Sammy Walker and Camille Vargas

This project is not available.

Data sources:

• American Friends Service Committee
• Hispanic Affairs Project
• Immigration Advocates Network
• United New Economy Colorado
• Vox article “Trump’s agreements in Central America are dismantling the asylum system as we know it“
• Freedom For Immigrants
• First Universalist Church of Denver
• First Unitarian Society of Denver
• Boulder Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
• Columbine Unitarian Universalist Church
• http://www.capitolheightspresbyterian.org
• Jefferson Unitarian Church
• Prairie Unitarian Universalist Church
• ACLU Colorado
• Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition
• Project Worthmore
• Rocky Mountain Immigration Advocacy Network
• Administrative Relief Resource Center
• Metro Denver Sanctuary Coalition

Project authors: Filip Graniczny, John Jones, Oscar Saenz, Ben Luppen and James Joseph

View the project on their website.

Data sources:

• Pew Research Center
• Department of Homeland Security
• American Immigration Council
• Pew Research Center article “Mexicans decline to less than half the U.S. unauthorized immigrant population for the first time“
• Pew Research Center article “Key findings about U.S. immigrants“
• Pew Research Center page Origins and Destinations of the World’s Migrants, 1990-2017
• Pew Research Center article “How Americans see illegal immigration, the border wall and political compromise“
• Immigrants in Colorado Fact Sheet
• Salud America! article “The Shocking Ways the Media Portrays Immigrants“
• The Washington Post article “The news media usually show immigrants as dangerous criminals. That’s changed – for now, at least.“
• The New York Times article “Migrants Are on the Rise Around the World, and the Myths About Them Are Shaping Attitudes“
• Migration Policy Institute “Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States“

Project description: The project is about a woman named Paulina who lives in Durango and experiences the detainment of her husband.

Project authors: Hannah Hines, John Aden, Beatriz Garcia Waddell, Glenda Leung and Beth Potter

Data source: ICE Contracts, 2010-July 29, 2019

Project description: The project focuses on simplifying the extensive issues of immigration into forms information that is accessible, easy to understand, and impactful for audiences who are not as informed about many aspects of the immigration process in America, such as detention centers. During the Migrahack, they created a website platform to house their new podcast, “For all Intents and Purposes.”

Project authors: Zoi Johns and Zach Marshall

Listen to “For All Intents and Purposes” on the podcast’s website.

Data sources: Data on detention and arrests in the U.S. immigration system from The Marshall Project website.

Project description: A video describing why people immigrate to the U.S. from Mexico, the dangers they face, and the organizations of Colorado that assist immigrants.

Project authors: Matthew Wheeler (@The_Wheel_Art Deal on Instagram), Eva Rios @Eva.Rios (Instagram) and Lisette Zamora (@l.zamoraphotography on Instagram)

Data sources:

• “11 Unbelievable Facts about Mexico’s Economy | Markets Insider.” Business Insider, Business Insider, https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/mexico-economy-facts-disproportionate-poverty-2019-6-1028281403#don-t-miss-13.
• “Poverty Rate in Colorado 2018.” Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/205441/poverty-rate-in-colorado/.
• Casa de Paz
• Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition
• Metro Denver Sanctuary Coalition
• Colorado Rapid Response Network