Colorado Gov. Jared Polis sent a letter to Congressional leaders this month, urging them to pass permanent protections for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

In the letter, Polis cited an October federal appeals court ruling as necessitating immediate action from Congress. The court ruled against DACA and ordered a lower court review, continuing the program for now but also continuing the litigation, which is expected to eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

“The recent Fifth Circuit decision is yet another clear indicator that the future of hundreds of thousands of DACA-eligible individuals who call the U.S. home is at great risk,” Polis said in the letter addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

“Congress must ultimately act to pass fair and humane immigration reform, and protecting DACA recipients in law is a critical and timely first step,” the letter continued. 

The DACA program prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and makes them eligible for employment.

Amid the ongoing court battle threatening the program, Democrats in the U.S. Senate are trying to pass a bill to create a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients before Republicans take majority control of the U.S. House in January. Congress reconvened this week.

In Colorado, there were 14,520 active DACA recipients as of March 2020, Polis said. In 2019, only 64% of immigrants eligible for DACA had applied for the program in Colorado.

“The litigation which has stopped all processing of new applications is harming Colorado’s economy. Colorado needs workers to fill the labor shortages that are in our state,” Polis said in the letter. “I call on Congress, without further delay during this lame duck session, to enact legislation that provides permanent solutions for Dreamers and immigrant youth.”

Colorado has struggled with a workforce shortage since the COVID-19 pandemic began. A state report released in December found that Colorado had over 107,000 vacant job postings at the end of 2021 – up 4.7% from the year before.

The report emphasized the vital role immigrants will play in strengthening Colorado’s economy, as they make up one-eighth of Colorado’s workforce in 2021 and are even more critical to the workforce as the state’s population ages, particularly in the tourism, construction and technology industries.

“I stand in solidarity with immigrant communities and vow to continue supporting all immigrants living in our cities and counties, and to continue to make Colorado a Colorado for all,” Polis’ letter concluded. “The time to act is now.”