The Daily Camera reported last week that there has been an increased demand for immigration attorneys and nonprofit assistance in Colorado since the beginning of 2025. This comes as President Donald Trump’s administration attempts to fulfill campaign promises about deporting undocumented immigrants. The report includes statements from local immigration attorneys that have seen twice the number of inquiries than they normally see.
Ian McKinley of McKinley Law Group, which offers legal help for Spanish-speaking clients in the Denver and Northern Colorado areas, said they are now receiving 15 to 30 voicemail messages every day. He also explained that there are fewer than 10 immigration attorneys in all of Boulder County, so his firm is experiencing a significant increase in phone call inquiries from potential clients. McKinley expects this to continue for the next four years while President Trump is in charge of federal immigration policy.
The firm schedules meetings months in advance and does not have enough staff to handle the upcoming workload. Immigration services provided by attorneys include helping clients with asylum cases, work permits, and green card renewals. Immigration attorneys also help with deportation defense in court.
Ramos Immigration Law is also receiving more inquiries than usual. Francesca Ramos, the firm’s founding attorney, told the Daily Camera that the firm hired two new staff members to deal with the increased demand for its services. Ramos said there has been an “enormous amount of fear” from the firm’s clients and potential clients, which is similar to what they experienced during the first Trump administration.
Following the inauguration of President Trump, ICE was posting daily updates about the number of arrests and immigration detainers requested. The updates posted on the agency’s X page detail alleged Tren De Aragua members who were arrested and detained by ICE. Tom Homan, the administration’s border czar, attended a roundtable discussion with Florida Governor Ron Desantis last week. “I'm not going to sleep well at night until every public safety threat, illegal alien, is eradicated from this country,” Homan said. “That's where we'll relax.”
El Comité, a Longmont nonprofit, helps immigrants with document translations, citizenship classes, and navigating the criminal justice system. The organization has seen a decline in visitors to the office due to increased fear of being targeted or detained by ICE. The nonprofit is still busy working with immigrants remotely.
In addition to helping people who have had family members detained, the organization also has clients who have asked for help getting money back from immigration-related scams. “It’s not enough access for the size of the community or the needs of the community, particularly if the plans that Trump has articulated are what is going to happen,” Executive Director Lisa Moreno said. “We know already that the people that we serve who come into our office are very low-income. It’s important to be able to build the infrastructure so that they have access to some sort of affordable immigration law for defensive work.”
